I Was Kagami Hiiragi
by bloodscorpion88
Summary: Kagami Hiiragi is in trouble and in her final moments, she recalls her tragic decline into the pits of a life of drugs, prostitution, and violence.
1. Chapter 1

PROLOGUE

Darkness. It was the solid shade of black that endlessly engulfed the world of which I was slowly returning to from a deep and unconscious state. For the past several hours, I thought I was dead. As my senses returned and I could hear the activity around me, I still believed that I was no longer of this world with the numbness I felt. Though this wasn't the first time I was numb. The past three months had felt like one long stay in a mentally frozen wasteland, depleted of all warmth and hope. What would make a difference now? I couldn't come to any logical conclusion as I continued to lay stretched out in this infinite world of shadows. I couldn't even tell if I was resting on something or even if I was standing up anymore. However, it wasn't all bad in these past three months. I became best friends with these miracles…these substances that took all of my pain away, if not for a few hours. Every second after that however was nothing but pure hell. Pure…fucking…hell.

I don't expect you to feel sorry for me after you hear what I'm about to divulge to you. The things I have done to not only myself, but also to the people I love are enough to make anyone sick and angry with rage. My family went crazy with sickness and rage over what I did to them so I expect you will too. First off, you should know who I am. I am me…but I'm not. At least not anymore. I was pure and innocent once, just like my fraternal twin sister. My twin sister. I loved her so much…and I still do…but after our last encounter, I don't think I can safely say she feels the same way anymore. Not after what I did to her…or the rest of my family members, especially my oldest sister. I come from a large religious family of four children…all of them girls. I never minded it…but I'm sure my dad probably did sometimes. Still, I feel I have a message I must tell you…because it could directly affect you one day…even though I don't know you personally. I had it all at one point. As I rest here in this darkness, I can't help but make my first astute observation regarding myself and where my life is right now. I fucked it all up. Before I tell you my story, I need to give you a quick preview of what I've done.

Those old days of happiness and tranquility are long over for me. My decisions made extra sure of that. I had alienated everyone and everything from me. I traded everything that was beautiful in my life for the most petty and disgusting of commodities, yet for some reason they gave my life meaning and joy. I couldn't live without these substances. I needed them. I sometimes felt that I needed them more than I needed air to breathe or water to drink. My only question for myself at this point was why. Why? Why did I do all of this to myself? What have I become? Why did I become addicted to so many drugs?

What am I now? I honestly forget what I am. As far as I can tell at this point, I'm nothing. I'm just a cloud of consciousness that has no solid form. I'm just a cloud of thoughts and questions trying to figure out what is happening to me…or better yet what I am. Am I human? Am I an animal? I have this feeling now that I have a memory somewhere in my history where someone was standing above me calling me his dog. Am I a dog? Am I simply someone's pet? I remember times where I was used and abused like some animal to get the substances I craved to satisfy my needs. I surrendered my status as a smart person the day I started taking drugs…but I made it worse by surrendering my status as an honorable woman the very second I climbed into that first car to satisfy that old man for money to get my fix. That was the night I began my career as a prostitute and it only kept going downhill from there.

I remember crying for hours after he was finished with me and my pocket was full of money. Even though I had no romantic feelings or any sense of attachment to him, he threw me out of his car door like I was garbage and that's exactly how I felt. I sold him my virginity for an hour of being high on crack. It was the drugs that took this pain away and thus, the vicious cycle marched on. When one high would wear off, the pain would take its place so I needed to start all over again. Car after car, night after night, perversion after perversion, all the while I became more and more numb.

Sometimes simply standing on a street corner wearing the most degrading and promiscuous clothing to capture a lonely guy's attention wasn't enough. Some nights the streets would be flooded with cop cars, forcing me to find another way of raking in the money. Coming from a religious family, I had already disgraced every principle they ever taught me so I figured what was the harm in breaking yet another one? I used this twisted thinking to justify my stealing habits. I was a natural at it in the beginning…because people trusted me…and I took advantage of that. Who would've ever thought that I of all people would be the one who raided your drawers or jewelry boxes looking for my next big bounty?

I stole from people I loved and from people I didn't even know. I stole money from my father's wallet and my mother's as well as my sisters' purses. I shoplifted medicine from pharmacies to either get high off of or sell to someone else who planned to use them to make meth or other drugs. I stole whatever I could find that had some value. I broke into cars to steal stereos, cell phones, whatever was resting on the seats. I even recall one night where I was so desperate for cash that I broke a window at some random building just to take a glass shard and use it as a knife and I robbed a woman who was out walking her dog. I threatened to slit her throat if she didn't give me her purse, which she did as she begged me not to kill her. I even stole my friend's high school graduation present, a personalized wristwatch that her parents bought for her, and I pawned it for cash to get more drugs.

After living this newly acquired and chosen lifestyle, the laws of karma eventually caught up to me as I knew they would one day. As good of a thief I was, there was always someone better. I remember twice when I would be on the block for another night of prostituting myself and I would only end up being raped and robbed. Other times, I myself was robbed at either knifepoint or at gunpoint for all the money or material possessions I had just stolen off somebody else. It was the burning and painful memory of another night where I was selling my body that I turned from a junkie prostitute and thief into a murderer.

A married man who was looking for a little something extra on the side picked me up and was going to pay to defile my body, which I accepted just like all the rest. When we were in a dark alleyway, I tried to get him to pay first. I have a business statement that says "no cash, no ass." He had no intentions of paying me and tried to rape me…but I learned from my other encounters that ended badly for me and I snapped and it all went blurry from there. To deal with the horrid guilt of taking another human life, I dove deeper into the drugs and the numbness continued to spread.

Noise. A sudden series of noises began to sound off all around me in this darkness I continue to bask in. I couldn't tell what it was I was hearing. My brain couldn't register it as a valid sound anymore. My brain was by this point in my life too far scrambled to comprehend anything anymore. What was real and what wasn't? What was the difference between the sound of a human voice and the sound of a car horn? Nothing as far as I'm concerned. Everything sounded the same to me by this point. Everything gave me a headache and I couldn't help but feel so many mixtures of hate and sorrow at the same time when I heard these noises. Everything reminded me of a time when things weren't so horrible in this life I was forced to call my own.

"Forget this bitch! Look at her! She's dead! We have to get the fuck out of here now!" One of the noises suddenly formulated into a human voice and screamed such terrified words. It was followed by more horrendous sounds of thudding getting louder and louder until they zipped past my reawakening brain and they got fader and fader until they were gone.

What was happening around me? What were these voices talking about? Were the sounds I just heard the clamoring of stampeding people running past me? As I thought about these things, I decided it was time to try and figure everything out. I now knew I was still alive and remained a physical being, though I didn't know how that was possible. I at one point even forgot I was even a human and suddenly remembered I had eyes and proceeded to try and open them.

It was painful. Why was simply opening my eyes so painful? Every time I tried, it felt like a thousand beestings to my eyeballs. It made my facial muscles twitch as I not only tried to open my eyes, but also tried to reestablish my human functions and figure everything out. As I slowly opened my eyes that were sealed shut with crust and mold, another sense returned to my body. One I wish that didn't return.

I smelled something so horrible. It was all around me and I tried to shift my head away from this putrid stench, only to find that it too was an impossibility, and another painful one at that. I was forced to simply lie here with my nose buried in this rotten odor that made me sick. What was this? I prayed that this was simply a nightmare and that I would wake up soon in my old bed where my sisters and parents would be waiting for me. I could brighten their days as they did for me on a regular and daily basis. Yet they're not here. It's just me and this filthy smell that only got stronger.

Another sense that abruptly returned was my taste. Once again, I would trade it for literally nothing except not having to taste the flavor that was in my mouth. There was no mistaking it now. I was tasting vomit. My vomit. The smell my nose and face was buried in matched the taste in my mouth, leading me to believe that I was resting on the ground somehow in a pool of my own cold bodily spew. But why? Was I sick?

Like fluorescent lights blinking several times before they would become permanently illuminated, the rest of my senses flickered on and off until they stayed on once again. I wished I was dead. So much pain. So much agony. It was all too much and I thought that at any second I would die and to be perfectly honest, I was praying for it. Why did everything have to hurt so badly and smell so horrible?

Finally, at long last, I lifted my eyes, breaking the seals of eye crust and I was suddenly embedded in a blurry world. My eyeballs twitched inside their sockets as my pupils began to return to their normal functionalities, yet I still couldn't see much in front of me. The first thing I wanted to identify however was the source of the fetid stink my nose was forced to endure. I shifted my eyeballs downward, causing more pain within my sockets. My two eyes felt like two grapes being crushed in a vice until I looked down towards my nose and saw it. My head was resting in a large puddle of my vomit; some of which was still leaking from my frozen lips.

The puddle was an unholy collage of different colors and shapes. The contents of my insides. It was truly a grotesque and sickening sight to behold, yet I couldn't escape it. My arms and legs still felt like cinderblocks as I continued to shift my eyes around my surroundings trying to figure out where I was. I was not in my own home. I was in some dank, dark, horrible place. I stared forward at a moldy and dusty couch with a rotting wall standing behind it, also with mold and mildew climbing up it. Was I in someone's house? There was a broken and rotting oil painting of flowers in a vase hanging on the wall so this was probably a nice place at one time. Now, it was horrible. The walls were crumbling and I could barely see into the next room through the many holes and gapes in the walls. A single tall lamp with one burning light bulb in the socket was the only device keeping any light in this room alive. The shadows it cast up the wall formed into broken and disfigured geometric shapes, making the persona of the room that much more haunting.

It was soon clear that I was resting on a dirty floor when I shifted my eyes downward again and scanned the empty room. Garbage was scattered in every direction as well as broken glass and to my horror, even the bodies of dead animals, mostly rodents and insects, were littering the dust-covered floor. My face was too close to the dead and dried out body of a dead rat and I felt another vomiting spell coming but I did my best to keep it swallowed. How did I end up here? The very second I asked myself this question, the horrors of the past three months began to replay themselves in my mind as I felt the tears mount in my eyes and sting them harshly. I put myself here. I did this to myself. My parents…my friends…my sisters…they tried to stop me. They tried to save me from myself…but I pushed them all away. Why was I so selfish and so evil towards them? All they wanted to do was help me.

The nerves in my limbs began to return and I shifted my eyes to a new source of throbbing pain in my left arm. To my horror, the skin around the middle of my arm was a combination of green and black. I felt my heart pound in my chest when I saw a syringe with a needle dug into my skin and sitting in my vein around the green and black colors. A belt was also wrapped around my bicep above the needle, keeping my vein pumped up with the needle thoroughly dug into it. Everything was starting to become painfully clear to me. I overdosed on drugs and vomited all over myself when I passed out. I only wish this was the first time I had overdosed on something.

With my sense of smell still returning, a new odor found its way up my nose and this time it was much different. It was blunt and strong…unmistakable to be the smell of smoke from a fire and it was getting stronger. Looking upward towards the ceiling, the single tall lamp with the glowing light bulb in it showed a river of black smoke beginning to form and flow across it. Whatever kind of building I was in, it was now on fire and here I was stuck in it with a needle jammed in my arm and an infection taking hold of the limb. I knew I had other infections from the countless needles I had pushed into my veins, but I still couldn't take my mind off this one. It was the freshest one and perfectly symbolic of my new lifestyle.

Here I laid. Just coming out of an unconscious state brought on by a powerful drug addiction in a pool of my own vomit and probably urine as well. That unfortunately wouldn't be a first for me either. A used needle was sticking in my arm and the limb looked like a porcupine with the device using my flesh to stand on its own. I felt nothing but physical and emotional pain after I would think of all the events that had transpired that led me here to this apparent crack house. The things I did after high school were the ones that haunted me the most. The things I did to my body. The things I let _other_ people do to my body. For the first time in three months, my sense of shame began to return. Now it seemed as if it was too late.

This concept was confirmed for me when my hearing continued to return and I heard the crackling roar of flames begin to consume the building I was trapped in. No doubt that voice I heard a few minutes ago was that of one of the guys I did drugs with. I wasn't able to see his face so I don't know if he was also the one that first introduced me to the drugs…or if he was the first one to touch me…or the second…or the third…or even the tenth or beyond that. I don't even know how many men I've been with anymore. As I felt the room become hotter and hotter, the nightmarish memories of my life once again began to relive themselves before my very eyes.

As I said before, I had it all but I gave it all away. I gave away a warm and loving home, two parents that loved me and each other, as well as my sisters. I missed them all…my fraternal twin sister especially. I gave away my great group of friends who always brightened even my saddest and darkest of days. Why did I treat them so badly towards the end? Why did I even put one of them in the hospital? All she wanted to do was help me…but I attacked her. I started hitting her…and I just couldn't stop. Nothing but utter rage and fiery adrenaline was pumping through my bloodstream as I hit her over and over when I pinned her to the floor. I still see the tears in her purple eyes through her broken glasses as she begged me to stop while the blood from her lacerations stained her pink hair. Now she was gone…just like the rest of my friends and family. I traded them all…for whatever was in that syringe or the solid minerals sitting in a glass pipe waiting to be lit up and smoked or even the white lines of madness waiting to be snorted through a straw. I traded everything that was beautiful in my life for drugs.

It all started with one bad decision and a budding wild streak after high school. I had just graduated high school with my fraternal twin sister and we were on top of the world. We were both rejoicing in our newfound freedoms and were bursting with euphoria at the idea of starting college in the fall. Our parents set so many high expectations for us, as we did for ourselves as well. We promised each other to find ourselves in college and set out to make the world a better place. I never made it though. One stupid night…one stupid party…one stupid decision. After that one stupid decision…my life turned into a domino effect ever since. It all seemed so harmless in the beginning but afterward, I traded everything before my own family's eyes. I'll never forget the look my mother's face created when she came into my room delivering laundry and saw me slide a syringe into my arm for the first time and push the plunger. It tore me to shreds and left a hole in my heart that could only be healed with more drugs. I just couldn't stop. Why couldn't I stop? All I wanted to do was to make my family and friends proud. Now none of them wanted to even mention my name.

The temperature in the room is rising now. It was when I began to see the walls in front of me begin to glow brighter from the growing flames behind me that I knew something had to be done. I didn't want to be burned alive…but why did I also want to live? I had nothing to live for. I had no home, no family, no friends, no money, nowhere to go, nothing. I only had the clothes covering my body and even they were torn and stained from so many drug trips, fights, and from guys clawing at them to have their way with me. I knew my death would be imminent if I just stayed there and let either the smoke put me to sleep permanently, or let the flames cook me alive. Yet something was still telling me to fight and live.

Feeling the flames begin to nip at my old high school shoes I still wore, I began to slowly crawl away. I couldn't move my left arm so much because the pain that would erupt in it from the needle shifting inside my vein, as well as the infection tearing at my muscles. Fighting through the pain gripping every fiber of my body, I continued to drag myself across the dusty and dirty floor away from the heat and dead rodents and bugs. As an added bonus, I was able to pull myself out of the pond of puke I was bathing in, yet it was only replaced by the smell of mold, dysfunction, and failure. If failure was a perfume…let's just say that by now it would be my signature fragrance. As I said before…I brought this on myself.

I looked away from my left arm in disgust as I lifted my right arm as I launched it forward to keep crawling, only to be met with more disgust. So many scares from razor blades edged into my flesh. I turned my arm into a cutting board one night when dosages of PCP and cocaine ravaged my sanity and turned my consistent down-to-earth frame of mind into a swirling vortex of surreal horrors. I didn't even know I was cutting myself with a razor blade. I didn't feel a thing when I was cutting while another junkie I was staying with was molesting me at the same time. When I turned my arm a certain direction while crawling, I saw my name cut into my flesh, as well as countless other marks and some profane words and slurs.

As I got further away from the rising heat, I looked forward and saw another open door leading to the bathroom. It too was riddled with used joints, syringes, empty pill bottles with some of the deadly pills scattered around the floor. Still crawling forward, I didn't see shards of glass on the floor and I plopped my hand on top of them and this time, I felt the pain as they tore through my soft and weak flesh. The tears came to my eyes once again and I let them flow despite the intense burning and stinging pain and kept going through the glass and away from the fire.

I finally made it into the dirty bathroom where the thicker stenches of more vomit and other bodily wastes hovered and made it their home, especially around the dried out toilet. Still wondering why I had such a will to live, I lifted my right arm up and grabbed the fading white porcelain sink, forcing the glass shards deeper into my flesh but I ignored the pain as I kept crying and I tried to pull myself up.

I tried lifting my left arm up but I could still feel the torturous needle still wobbling inside my arm and I had to get it out of me. Still gripping the sink with my right hand, I moved my head towards the needle until I latched onto the glass body with my teeth and I pulled it out. I felt a wave of relief at first when the needle escaped my flesh, but the pain soon returned as I dropped the used needle on the floor. I was able to grab the sink with my left hand again and I hoisted myself up and I was able to stand on my own for the first time in probably more than two days. I have no idea how long I was passed out on that floor with that needle jammed in my arm but I lifted my head and stared into the dirty mirror.

The reflection of a stranger was all that I could see. I didn't see me. This person I looked at in the mirror not only scared me…it also sickened me. Pale flesh with dark greenish circles under her blood-shot eyes, red and purple sores all over her face, chapped lips, long hair riddled with crust and dried pieces of vomit, one side of her hair divided into a pigtail, and the overall look of failure. This person's clothes were also sickening. Simple dime-store jeans torn at the knees with a promiscuous tube top also stained in vomit, saliva, and blood with some tears around it. And this person was so skinny. Too skinny to be healthy as her arms looked like two twigs. This wasn't me, yet this was the image the mirror was throwing back at me.

Seeing a curtain of orange and yellow grow, I looked to my left out the bathroom door and saw fires begin to spread in this ramshackle home. I was in a crack house that was on fire and I was all alone but for once, I was used to it. I remember I always used to hate being alone, whether it was in school or even at home. I hated being alone but my fraternal twin sister was always there for me.

Tsukasa…where are you now? Are you safe? Are you comfortable? Are you happy? I prayed to the gods everyday that you were to all the above. However, I have a sinking feeling that your happiness is lacking, especially because of our interactions the last time we saw each other. That was nearly two weeks ago when we last saw each other. It was during that interaction that I did something that I truly regret. I made you cry. And not just cry…I completely broke you because of what I did. I did something so heinous to our oldest sister, Inori, that I know I'll never be able to go back to you.

Inori…if you can hear me, let me say one thing. I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry for what I did to you. What I did to you personally…it wasn't human. I'm just as guilty, if not more so, for the crime that I allowed to happen to you. I know you're never going to be the same because of it. Inori…I'm so sorry.

Tsukasa…I remember our old friend Konata once telling us that since we were twins, we could probably communicate telepathically. If you can hear me…just let me also say one thing. I'm sorry…I love you…and I never meant to hurt you or the others…and now…I think this is goodbye.

I looked at the mirror again and stared at the image of this grotesque individual before me. It truly was me I was staring at and this was no nightmare. This was my current life designed and initiated by me and me alone. I made my first mistake but didn't learn from it and yet I only made it worse. I sold every inch of my body to strangers and have done unspeakable things that will always haunt me forever. Despite all of this, the worst part was not the drugs, the sex, the stealing, or even the violence. The worst part was knowing that I would never get the chance to tell my family how truly sorry I was before this fire would take me away.

I still have _you_ to talk to though until the very end…the one who is listening to me now. Like I said in the beginning…I don't expect you to feel any sympathy for me or forgive me for what I have done when I reveal everything I have done. No one has so far…not even Tsukasa. I already know she hates me…especially after what I did to her in the end. However, as I stand here looking at this putrid image of myself, I'll make my last request to you. Please listen to my story until the very end. Please listen to me…learn from me…question yourselves for me. After I'm done, take a good hard look at yourselves in the mirror as I am right now and ask yourselves if you are where you want to be in life. And remember this lesson I learned the hard way; never take _anything_ in your life for granted as I have…because in the end…nothing lasts forever.

Letting more tears fall in the midst of my dismay, I opened my mouth and whispered, "I am Kagami Hiiragi."

A thought came to my mind and I shook my head. Clearing my throat, I tried to identify myself again.

"I _was_ Kagami Hiiragi…"


	2. Chapter 2

CHAPTER 1

Miki Hiiragi felt her eyes burn from the tears that flowed freely from them. The tears she shed however weren't from any forms of sadness or anguish, but rather from the immense pride she was feeling for her twin daughters as she held her digital camera up towards them and took their picture with the shining Ryoo High School in the background as the cherry blossom trees continued to show off their vibrant colors. She lowered her camera when she snapped the photo and looked at her two gems standing before her. Dressed in their graduation uniforms with mortar boards sitting atop their heads and diplomas firmly in their grasp with smiles that added more brightness to the spring day, the Hiiragi housewife strolled over and hugged her two high school graduate daughters.

She always knew this day would come, but she still balled with endless joy and pride. Her twin daughters in Kagami and Tsukasa Hiiragi had worked so hard to get to where they were but now one important chapter in their lives had finally closed. As a mother, Miki knew that this was only the beginning for Kagami and Tsukasa. She had such high hopes for her twins and could already envision their adventures in college, as well as crying for them again one day when they would claim the men that would complete their lives. Maybe even give her grandchildren one day.

"I'm so proud of you two…and I promised myself I wouldn't cry." Miki whimpered while backing away and blushing as she took a tear away.

"Oh mom, stop it you're embarrassing us. Just imagine how you'll look when we graduate college." Kagami Hiiragi laughed as she tucked her high school diploma under her armpit.

"Or when we get married." Tsukasa giggled with a slight blush.

Miki giggled as her husband in Tadao, as well as her oldest daughters joined her with Kagami and Tsukasa. "You're right, dear. I'm just so happy for you two. You two are in the driver's seat right now and you have life by the horns. You're going to have so much fun in college and you'll make all these new friends and…oh no here I go again!"

Miki turned away and started her waterworks once again as the rest of her family giggled at her while Tadao hugged her and kissed her on the head. Inori swept down and hugged Tsukasa gently while Matsuri on the other hand reared her tomboyish side by giving Kagami a light punch on the shoulder. Kagami was annoyed by her show of affection but knew her older sister meant well and took it with stride.

"So anyway, weren't you guys going to show us around and introduce us to some of your friends?" Tadao asked as he held Miki close around her shoulder.

"Oh yeah, I want you guys to meet our friends and I think Kona-chan is around here somewhere, too!" Tsukasa happily exclaimed.

Tsukasa took charge and led her family through the open gate of their former high school, where the rest of the post-ceremonial festivities were happening. The Hiiragi family dove into the seas of graduating seniors and crying parents, only deepening Miki and Tadao's euphoria. They remembered the days when Inori first graduated this school, followed by Matsuri and now, all their daughters were still on the paths to becoming exceptional young women. Words couldn't even begin to describe the immense pride Miki and Tadao felt and they could see they weren't alone in that respect as they scanned the crying faces of other parents as they watched their children graduate.

Still leading her family with deep emotional happiness, Tsukasa finally spotted a familiar face in Miyuki Takara, also dressed head to toe in her graduation gown with her mortar board also sitting above her head with the tassel dangling off to the side. A new addition to Miyuki's physical appearance was the sparkling earrings hanging off her lobes for this special occasion as she talked to her mother.

"Yuki-chan!" Tsukasa called happily, catching the pink-haired girl's attention.

Miyuki looked and smiled deeply when she saw her friend dashing towards her with open arms. The two friends hugged each other tightly in a physical display of congratulating the other. As the Hiiragi family approached, Miyuki and Tsukasa pulled away from each other while still holding each other's hands.

"Tsukasa-san…I'm so proud of you and your sister." Miyuki whimpered with an affectionate smile. "You've accomplished so much and your experiences are only just beginning."

Keeping her smile deep, Tsukasa nodded. "My mom said that too. Please promise me you'll stay in touch with my sis and I."

Miyuki nodded. "I promise and make sure you do the same for me."

"So what's next, Miyuki?" Kagami asked as she stepped forward while Inori and Matsuri began to look around their old high school and their parents began talking to Miyuki's mother.

"Well, I was accepted into a college to start my pre-med classes." Miyuki said with a modest smile.

"That's great! Where at?" Kagami quickly replied as her interest in furthering academic abilities continued to flourish around Miyuki.

"Well…it's actually abroad…in France." Miyuki said and averted her eyes.

Tsukasa looked up. "Wait…you're leaving us, Miyuki?"

Miyuki nodded slowly and replied with some guilt at first but finished with passionate enthusiasm. "I'm sorry if this makes you upset, Tsukasa-san, but I will keep my promise to stay in contact with you. You're still my friend and I love you!"

It broke Miyuki's heart to see Tsukasa begin to tear up but when the youngest Hiiragi twin returned her smile after hearing the last sentence, it made the pink-haired girl feel better. Tsukasa said, "That's great, Yuki-chan. What's the university called?"

"University of Franche-Comte." She said with happiness for her accomplishment.

"Congratulations again, Miyuki." Kagami said again. "You're going to be a great doctor someday."

"And you'll be a great lawyer one day, Kagami-san." Miyuki replied sincerely.

Kagami looked away. "Well, to be honest Miyuki, I don't know if I want to be a lawyer. I was thinking of just taking a few general classes in the fall and see what sticks. I mean, I'm still young so I figured I should just take my time and make sure I get it all right the first time. I don't know if that makes sense or anything but that's what I plan."

Miyuki nodded. "That's a great plan. Enjoy your life and youth, Kagami-san. There's no need to rush into the real world and make rash decisions before you have to. You too, Tsukasa-san."

Tsukasa nodded with a happy squeal. "Okay I will."

"By the way, Miyuki, have you seen any of our other friends?" Kagami asked.

Miyuki placed her index finger under her chin as she thought. "Well, I believe that your friends Kusakabe-san and Minegishi-san are looking for you but I haven't seen Konata-san since the ceremony an hour ago."

Kagami rolled her eyes. "That Konata I swear. She's probably off pulling a senior prank or something and if I know her, she's probably going to pull it on Ms. Kuroi."

Tsukasa and Miyuki giggled lightly.

"Anyway I guess we should go look for them." Kagami said and began to part through the crowd as Miki and Tadao conversed with Yukari Takara. Tsukasa followed her sister and Kagami turned back to Miyuki. "Are you coming, Miyuki?"

"I wish I could, Kagami-san, but my cousins from the countryside are coming to visit and my mother and I should be getting back to our home to meet them." Miyuki replied. "But please, let's get together over the summer before I leave for France."

The Hiiragi twins promised to meet their friend at least one more time before she would begin her trek into both the unknown and nonstop adventure. Kagami and Tsukasa excused themselves from the rest of their family as Inori and Matsuri themselves wanted to take a trip down memory lane at their old high school. Their parents followed them with happy nostalgia as the Hiiragi twins continued to bask in the ongoing festivities at what was now their former school.

Swimming through the seas of colorful graduation gowns, Kagami could already feel a growing bubble of emotional uncertainty. She was a girl of routine and academic integrity, two traits that Ryoo High School bestowed onto her and now they were going to be retired. The twin-tailed girl was smart enough to know that her intelligence and commitment to education wasn't going to simply disappear with the end of her high school career, but it was the safety net of the school that always gave her confidence. Now that that was going to depart, she was going to have to build and mold her own path in the more liberal atmospheres that was college.

To her surprise, Kagami gulped as she continued to walk and think about these new unknowns. Her whole life so far was built around structure whether it involved her habits or even her committee work at school, however, they all had one thing in common. It was all formally established for her and it was all she knew. She had to admit that the idea of starting her own life and being on her own was beginning to scare the twin-tailed tsundere.

As Kagami and Tsukasa continued to search for the rest of their friends, an arm suddenly constricted Kagami's neck and pulled her close, catching her by surprise. It was followed by a voice that squealed, "Tell me you're jealous, Hiiragi! Go on, say it!"

Kagami jumped by the sudden grip and her ears recognized the voice to belong to Misao Kusakabe. Before she could look at her, the sun in the sky brightened a piece of metal wrapped around her wrist that was near Kagami's face. Kagami shifted her eyes again and saw a brand new and shining silver watch wrapped around Misao's wrist. It was a piece of pure silver jewelry with Ryoo High School's coat of arms in the center and her graduating class year embedded in it.

"It…it's very nice, Kusakabe." Kagami giggled at her friend's vibrant energy as she looked at her for the first time and saw Ayano Minegishi standing with her.

Misao took a step back and unfastened the watch. "Yeah, isn't it?! My parents bought it for me as a graduation gift and look at the message engraved on the back!"

The brown-haired ball of enthusiasm that was Misao held the back of the watch up to Kagami's face so fast, it nearly smacked her in the nose as Kagami read the message out loud. "To our daughter, Misao. With endless love and pride, your parents."

Misao reattached the jewelry to her wrist with the biggest smile Kagami had ever seen on her face. The twin-tailed girl could see how happy that graduation present made her and she smiled for her. Though Misao wasn't at the same academic level as Kagami was, the oldest Hiiragi twin still had to admit to herself that she was always glad she was around and that they were friends. Misao reminded Kagami of a wild and careless streak that she didn't possess yet at the same time craved to experiment with.

"Hiiragi-chan, congratulations on graduating." Ayano said with her usual charming smile.

"Thank you and to you, too. And Kusakabe." Kagami said and it finally happened. Her eyes swelled with moisture and she quickly turned and shut her eyes. "I'm…I'm going to miss you guys so much. You were the best friends I ever had."

Kagami was expecting to be mocked and have her emotional moment poked at by Misao. It wouldn't be the first time she would do something like that. The memories of her cheerleading routine with her friends and training for it were still very fresh, especially when she got mad at her and another certain blue-haired girl who made fun of her for her nostalgia. However, it wasn't a playful harassment that Kagami received, but a sincere pat on her shoulders.

She turned and saw Misao with her hand on her shoulder and an unconventional heartfelt smile on her face. Kagami returned the smile as she quickly wiped a tear out of her eyes. Though Misao was known for being a dimwit at times, one of the things that nobody could fault her for was the fact that she was loyal to Kagami and, unlike a certain blue-haired girl, knew when to push her and when not to.

"So if those guys were your best friends…then I guess that makes us lovers!" A familiar flamboyant voice exclaimed and Kagami once again jumped when a new pair of arms wrapped themselves around her flat stomach.

"Kona-chan!" Tsukasa happily proclaimed.

Kagami looked behind her and saw her closest friend in Konata Izumi hug her tighter while also wearing the same cap and gown with a shoulder bag resting at her feet. Though Kagami was annoyed by this outlandish show of affection, she instantly saw something unique about Konata's wardrobe that suddenly made her begin laughing hysterically as Konata backed off with confusion. The blue-haired girl's graduation gown didn't fit her completely because of her short stature and it looked as if Konata was wearing a very oversized t-shirt as the gown dragged around her feet on the ground. Her sleeves also dangled far off her petite arms.

"That…that's the funniest damn thing I've ever seen!" Kagami exclaimed as Tsukasa giggled uncomfortably. "You're too short to fit in your own graduation gown! Let's hope the wind doesn't start blowing or that gown will turn into a parasail and take you for a ride!"

Because Konata was the girl that she was, she instantly turned the tables on the taunting Kagami by saying, "Well I'd still prefer to be in this undersized gown than to be filling it out everywhere like you, Kagamin!"

Kagami instantly ceased her laughing and her face burned red in embarrassment and anger. "Are you calling me fat?!"

"I don't know, does two plus two equal fat—I mean four?" Konata asked with her grin.

"Shut up you!" Kagami's infamous rage suddenly returned as she reared a clutched fist and a vein her head. "You don't need to go there you jerk! I hate wearing loose-fitting clothes because of my figure!"

Konata could see that her remark really angered Kagami this time and for good reason. This was the biggest accomplishment of the tsundere's life so far with so much promise still on the horizon and she wanted this day to be perfect. It was certain that her parents and two older sisters were around nearby and Kagami wanted this day to be perfect for them. Her and Tsukasa were the last of their children to graduate Ryoo High School and begin their trek onward so naturally, they wanted to make this day for their parents extra special.

"Oh come on, Kagamin. Even after all these years at Ryoo and you still think you look fat?" Konata huffed as she rolled her eyes. "You know you're gonna be out in the real world soon and I think the last thing you should be worrying about is your weight…especially since you shouldn't be worrying about it at all. I know other girls in our graduating class that would give an arm and a leg to look even a third as good as you do now."

Kagami blushed again. "Is…is that the truth, Konata?"

The blue-haired girl nodded. "Of course! Now I have a graduation present for you so I hope you enjoy it, slim!"

Kagami's face lit up and she put it together when she saw the shoulder bag at Konata's feet and, like a kid in a toy store, she trembled in anticipation as Konata reached into the bag. However, Kagami saw the cruel irony of Konata's practical though sincere present when she retracted six boxes of her favorite pocky.

Her face went from excited to placid when she saw the gift and Konata's satisfied smirk. "You're pretty proud of yourself right now, aren't you?" Kagami groaned.

Konata giggled. "Who wouldn't be, Kagamin? Who wouldn't be?"

Kagami sighed with an honest giggle in her breath and took the gift with stride. Though she would never admit it because of the nature of her personality, but Kagami also always appreciated having Konata around like she had Misao around. Both of those girls acted as a counterweight that would balance her tough and serious personality. They would always show her the lighter side of life and prove to her that not every day had to be an endless work ethic and it was okay to let your guard down every now and then. Though Miyuki was going abroad and they wouldn't see each other anymore, Kagami was still upset inside the most over the fact that Misao and especially Konata were more than likely going to go in other directions of her.

"Hey Hiiragi!" Misao's voice bluntly exclaimed, catching everyone's attention and making Kagami turn to her. The brown-haired girl was staring at her cell phone screen and had just completed reading a text message. "Another friend of mine is throwing a big graduation party at their house tonight and invited me and said to bring a friend! What do you say?! Wanna come?!"

Kagami had to admit that she was intrigued by the offer. She had never been to a real party before let alone a graduation one, which was bound to be much bigger and vibrant than the average one. However, her safeguarding principles her parents instilled onto her were beginning to tell her to be wary. She had heard of stories about these kinds of parties before where there were a lot of inappropriate activities and a lot of regret would come the next day. Despite that, she trusted herself enough to conclude that she was old and mature enough to make the right decisions. Still, she was hesitant as she stuttered in her response to Misao.

"Don't worry, Hiiragi. There's going to be parental supervision and everything so no need to fret." Misao said bluntly.

Kagami gave an internal sigh of relief and decided that if it was okay with her parents then she would go. She turned to Tsukasa and asked, "What do you think, Tsukasa? Wanna go to a party?"

Tsukasa still didn't have the mental maturity that her twin did so she was still unsure about it. "I don't know, sis. That sounds a little too extreme for me. I think I'd rather stay home with mom and our other sisters."

Kagami shrugged and turned to Konata. "What about you?"

Konata shook her head. "Sorry, Kagami, but my dad, Yutaka, and I are going out to dinner tonight to celebrate. Rain check?"

Before Kagami could respond, her group of friends was approached by the rest of her and Tsukasa's family. Inori and Matsuri had their fill of nostalgia and rejoined their little sisters along with their parents and Kagami only had one thing on her mind as they approached.

"Mom, dad, would it be okay if I went to a party tonight with some friends?" Kagami asked.

The Hiiragi parents were still reveling in the fact that the last of their children had graduated high school and were both blindsided by the question. They looked at each other with confusion and back at Kagami while Miki took the lead first in the response.

"I don't know, dear. Who's going to be at this party?" She asked with concern.

"Just a few friends from class and Kusakabe here says that there will be parents at the party." Kagami quickly replied as she already knew her parents' primary concern even before they vocalized it.

Miki turned back to her husband. "Well…if there are going to be parents I say she can go. What do you think, honey?"

Tadao smiled. "I believe Kagami has earned a little bit of freedom after all her hard work, don't you think so?"

Miki smiled, nodded, and turned back to Kagami. "Okay, you can go, dear. Just make sure you're home by eleven."

"Thanks guys!" Kagami exclaimed.

"Aren't you going too, Tsukasa?" Miki asked.

Tsukasa quickly cast her eyes downward at the ground and shuffled her feet while trying to avoid eye contact with Kagami. The youngest Hiiragi daughter didn't want to go even though she would be with her sister but at the same time didn't want to hurt her feelings. That was Tsukasa's personality though. She was always thinking about other people's feelings, Kagami's especially and it would be her worst nightmare to hurt someone. Even though Kagami didn't and wouldn't take offense to her sister not wanting to go, Tsukasa couldn't help but get the feeling that her older twin may be in danger if she wasn't there with her.

"That…that's okay, mom. I'm not really a party animal or anything like that." She said, her eyes still looking away.

Kagami couldn't help but giggle and pat her sister on the shoulder. "Oh don't worry, Tsukasa. I won't be doing any partying or anything like that so it'll be fine. I just want to see and hang out with a few friends."

"Who knows…you might find that special someone at that party!" Konata exclaimed happily.

"Konata! If I'm going to get a boyfriend it _won't_ be at a graduation party!" Kagami retorted with embarrassment.

Forming her cat-like grin, Konata furthered her torment of the twin-tailed girl in front of her friends and family. "Whoever said that special someone had to be a boy? You're going to college soon, you know so it's time to open your mind in more ways than one!"

Misao and Konata found the joke quite humorous while Tsukasa blushed at the concept of her blue-haired friend's promiscuous joke while Ayano giggled uncomfortably. The rest of Kagami's family however wasn't too fond of it as their disgruntled expressions showed. Miki and Tadao showed their discontent the most at the idea of their beloved and ideal Kagami Hiiragi going to a party, only to divulge herself in heavy drinking and accidentally sleeping with another girl. Still, they knew that their daughter was inevitably maturing and they trusted her enough to make the right decisions.

"Not in front of my parents you nutjob!" Kagami exclaimed angrily. "I'm sure they're nervous enough as it is without you adding fuel to the frantic fire!"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah!" Konata retorted with confidence.

"Onee-chan!" The familiar voice of Yutaka Kobayakawa called over the ocean of graduated students and it caught everyone's attention. Konata looked and saw her younger cousin waving happily at her from across the yard with the blue-haired girl's father standing next to her and waiting for her return.

"There's my dad and Yu-chan so I'll catch you guys later!" Konata exclaimed and dashed off, quickly disappearing in the crowd.

Kagami turned back to her parents. "I do apologize for her. She's…she's a little awkward at times but she still is a good person."

Miki washed away her discomfited face and smiled. "I know, dear, I know. You're only friends with the best people so we trust you and love you. Have fun at your party tonight."

Kagami formed a wider smile as her first response. "You guys are the best! I love you too!"

Misao was ecstatic about Kagami being granted permission to go and she took her hand and led her away from the crowd. As Miki and Tadao watched one of their youngest daughters get dragged away by one of her friends, they couldn't help but sigh in pride for her and Tadao rubbed his wife's shoulder again as she giggled.

"Are you worried about her, dear?" Miki asked.

Tadao sighed. "My thoughts are as still clear as an open book to you as they were from when I first married you."

Miki giggled again. "I'm sure she'll be fine. She was raised and brought up by you, you know."

Tadao chucked and kissed his wife on her head.

Tsukasa watched Kagami disappear in the collage of other graduation gowns from the students and she folded her hands under her chin. "Sis…be safe…okay?"


	3. Chapter 3

CHAPTER 2

Kagami continued to fuss with her hair as she struggled to balance her small hand-held mirror in her one hand while she combed out her long pigtails as the train carrying her and Misao ran down the tracks. At first Kagami was looking forward to this social event and decided to dress nice for the occasion, but it was when she arrived at the train station and saw Misao dressed casually and nonchalantly that made her question her own wardrobe. Now she was nervous that she was inappropriately dressed. Misao herself was dressed in regular jeans and a t-shirt with a buttoned shirt over it while Kagami wore a wardrobe that bordered on a dress.

"Like I said, it's a graduation party, not a graduation formal." Misao said with a laugh.

"You could've mentioned that earlier." Kagami snapped as she finished redoing her hair.

Giggling again, Misao crossed her legs. "Relax, Hiiragi, it'll be fine. Just follow my lead and waltz in like you own the place. Who knows, you might even hookup with a cute boy."

Kagami squinted her eyes and turned her head to look at her friend. "Why would I do that? I thought you said there were going to be parents at this party."

Misao instantly realized she made a mistake but knew they were down the rabbit hole by this point so she decided to come clean. "Oh yeah…about that…um…I lied. Sorry."

"You lied to me?!" Kagami yelled and jumped up, attracting the attention of the few other passengers on the evening ride. "I told my parents there would be supervision at this party! Now they're going to think I lied to them!"

"I said to relax, Hiiragi! You know this is _exactly_ why I had to tell you that there would be parents there! You were a good girl your whole life and I've never even seen you so much as jaywalk let alone go to an all adult party, which _you_ now are one!" Misao made her case for deceiving Kagami. "I mean come on! You're eighteen years old now and out of high school! As far as the rest of the world is concerned you're just another adult so why don't you live like one for once, if not only once? Huh? You have your entire life to worry about conforming to what society and 'the man' tells you to and with the way you run your life already this will most likely be the only time you'll enjoy yourself! You need to stop putting so much damn pressure on yourself and take a breather and go wild sometimes! With all of that pressure you always put on yourself in school I sometimes thought you were going to die! You only live once so you need to practically live every day like it was your last because who knows? You could be walking down the street one day and a runaway bus would come and turn you into a road waffle!"

Misao's lengthy retort silenced Kagami as the angered twin-tailed girl grabbed a support pole when the train bumped. She looked down at the floor while searching her mind to try and find a response of her own but was coming up empty.

"Come on, Hiiragi. You're my friend too and I won't let anything bad happen while we're there. I know the guy who's throwing it and it'll be fine. Just stick close to me and for crying out loud, enjoy yourself." Misao's voice quieted and the other people in the train soon lost interest in the quarrel and turned away.

Kagami still stood and remained silent. When Misao said to her "you have your entire life to worry about conforming to what society and 'the man' tells you to and with the way you run your life already this will most likely be the only time you'll enjoy yourself," Kagami couldn't help but think. All her life she only truly knew the world of the academic and never did anything crazy or out of her comfort zone with herself. Even Konata knew this and occasionally made fun of her for it, whether it was her inability to do household chores or even work in the real world. Because Kagami was a smart girl, she began to see the handwriting on the wall and connect the dots while making parallels in her mind. Ironically, could two of her most academically-dimwitted friends be speaking true knowledge for once?

The twin-tailed girl wondered and even worried about the answer as she slowly sat down next to Misao again. Her brown-haired girl patted her bluntly on the shoulders and said, "There you go! Live a little! Everything's gonna be just fine, Hiiragi!"

Kagami nodded uncomfortably and looked at Misao again. "Kusakabe, what exactly did you mean when you were talking about putting pressure on myself?"

Misao looked at Kagami again. "I was just saying that I'm a little concerned, that's all. You never seem to truly get out and enjoy yourself and you're planning on starting college this fall, right?"

Kagami nodded.

"Well, I'm not." Misao said with pride. "I'm taking a year off and going on hiking and camping trips all across this country and live my life my own way before I have to bow down to what society wants me to. With all this academic pressure you put yourself under, I just worry sometimes. That's all."

Kagami looked at the floor again.

"And besides, I also worry about how you'll do at college." Misao added, catching Kagami's attention again. "I mean don't get me wrong, you'll blow all your grades out of the water and everything but it's the fact that the ball is in your court now. All your life you've been doing what a teacher or some mainstream school system has told you to do. I just wonder how you'll adjust to finding yourself and setting up your own schedule and lifestyle. College is a much different world and I'm not entirely convinced it's for me so good for you, Hiiragi, for wanting to make that gargantuan leap."

Misao patted Kagami on the shoulders bluntly again, though her dimwittedness reared its ugly head once again when she failed to look the twin-tailed girl's face. Kagami was scared. Her eyes were trembling in her head and began to dart in every direction and her breathing became deeper as sweat began to form across her forehead. Even her teeth began chattering as her heart began to beat faster and faster at the idea of going to college, especially since she was accepted into a university in Osaka. It was a pretty good distance from her home in Saitama and she would be very far away from her family and everything she's ever known.

Now she began to truly question all of her abilities as a person and her resolve as a student. She wasn't sure that she would be able to take the pressure, especially since she knew that Misao was right in the fact that she would inevitably put more on herself to stay on top of her schooling game. The fact that Kagami's everyday routines were about to be taken away and shuffled scared her deeply.

And what of the rest of her friends? Miyuki was going abroad while Misao and Konata still didn't seem to have a care in the world. Despite those two drastic differences in life pursuits, the three girls seemed to be really well vested into them while Kagami was left questioning not only what she wanted to study or even do, but also if she could handle the pressure. Tsukasa was another unique case. Everyone, even Tsukasa herself, knew that she didn't have it in her to be some brave world traveler like Miyuki or impulsive adventurer like Konata or Misao, so it didn't surprise anyone when she applied to and was accepted into a culinary arts school within driving distance of their home. Still, she was taking high school graduation with stride and was excited about starting school again in the fall, especially since it was something she was going to be very interested in.

Kagami continued to think and overanalyze not only her situation, but also everyone else's and began to make herself paranoid. What if she were to join Misao on her outdoorsy adventures across Japan and waiting for the next semester? But Kagami had already dotted all her I's and crossed all her T's at this point. The university was expecting her, especially after she worked so hard on her admissions essay and beefed up her overall academic resume that impressed the office. The application process was so painstakingly tedious as well so she couldn't go through all of that just to simply turn away from it.

The muscles inside Kagami's neck constricted, making her gulp in fear and her palms became moist as she trembled. She could feel the heat on her now and it seemed that the world's spotlight had found her. The sun was setting on her graduation day but the glowing orange rays shining through the train windows made her feel that she was on the center of some giant stage and every possible career or future employer was watching her every move. She suddenly felt alone and exposed as she turned back to Misao and saw her friend was still reveling in the fact that she didn't have to go back to that forced labor camp called high school every day. In Kagami's mind, she was the crazy one but now she wasn't so sure.

Something had to be done to take this vicious and never-ending fear and edge off. Maybe it would be okay for her to live a little for tonight, if not only tonight and see where it goes. She still wanted to keep her morals in perspective. There was no way Kagami was going to hookup with some random guy or worse, get pregnant at an early age. Maybe a few drinks wouldn't hurt. She might even meet a few new people that would be able to put her fears at ease. After all, she had to admit that Misao did have a point when she said that you only live once and the unexpected could happen to anyone so it was best to live every day like it was going to be your last.

Kagami also wanted to keep in mind that she wanted to be a good role model for Tsukasa. She knew just how much her younger fraternal twin looked up to her and idolized her. The twin-tailed girl always liked to show off her good grades and even stay ahead of Tsukasa, but at the end of the day Kagami really appreciated having her little sister with her and she was always there to keep Kagami on her best game. So Tsukasa would always have someone to look up to and Kagami didn't want that someone she worshiped to be the crazy party girl who disappointed or disobeyed her parents just because she thought she could or that she was entitled to it after working so hard in school. Kagami's mind continued to prove itself to be an endless cyclone effect of countless worries and predicaments that haven't even manifested themselves as realties yet. It only further proved to her that Misao of all people had a point, which was beginning to scare her even more than the pressure she was putting on herself.

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Kagami was incredibly scared when she and Misao walked side-by-side down the neighborhood where the party house was. It was dark out now and the oldest Hiiragi twin was in a part of town that she was never at before and she was beginning to fear for her safety. Misao on the other hand still strolled down the street like she was out for a casual walk with no fear. They could hear the pulsing ripples of bass music shaking the ground beneath their feet in the distance and they knew they were close.

"I don't know how many times I need to keep telling you to relax, Hiiragi." Misao said with a grin. "I've been on this scene before and I know what I'm doing so just stick by me. Consider me your wingman going into this party."

"You seem a little too calm for this. I'm nervous right now and I could tell you that my sister would be catatonic right now if she was with me. How many times have you done this before?" Kagami asked.

"Oh…a few times. Usually during Golden Week or when I was lucky during a school night." Misao replied, still without fear or regret in her confident voice.

Kagami gasped again at the culture shock. "On school nights?! Are you insane?!"

"No, I just have a healthy addiction to craziness." Misao jabbed at her friend who she viewed as being a borderline puritan.

The twin-tailed girl rolled her eyes. "I don't think I could ever live like you, Kusakabe. I need order and certainty in my life."

Misao giggled at Kagami's desire for a structured life. "Well…we'll see what we can do about that tonight. Look, there's the house."

Kagami looked forward and spotted a more modern-style house that showed the lively atmosphere of a wild party. They could see people through the windows either dancing, talking, or drinking, putting Kagami further on the edge. Empty alcohol bottles and cans littered the front yard, disgusting Kagami and to her surprise and even fright, she saw a shirtless guy resting face down in the grass with a bottle still clutched in his hand.

Kagami tugged at Misao's shirt. "Is…is he okay?"

Misao looked at the source of Kagami's distress and replied, "He's fine. He's just very tired…from drinking so much."

The two girls walked up the front porch, where three guys smoking cigarettes and holding beer bottles were keeping an eye on the door. Misao approached them as Kagami still reluctantly followed and the brown-haired girl stood with her chest puffed out as the three young men didn't know what to make of the girls.

"Can we help you ladies?" One of them asked rudely.

"Yeah, you can tell Ryuji that Misao is here and that I hope he can hold his liquor better this time around!" She replied loudly over the pulsating music.

The three guys suddenly began laughing and another replied, "Oh…so _you_ are the famous Kusakabe we've heard so much about."

"In the flesh!"

"Hey is it true that you were able to do eight shots and still have enough strength left to give that transfer student a black eye?" The third one laughed.

"And a loose tooth!" Misao added to the story, making Kagami form a horrified face. "So are we gonna get our drink on tonight or would you three boys prefer us to stay sober and keep all of our inhibitions?"

The three guys laughed again and one of them opened the door for them, letting the earsplitting music rip into their bodies and Kagami instantly shielded her ears from it. Misao on the other hand grabbed Kagami and pulled her inside the unknown world of debauchery and social deviation of her serene upbringing.

The first thing Kagami saw was a boy and girl roughly her and Misao's age and making out deeply in the hallway while countless other people continued to party around them. It shocked her deeply and made her blush as Misao continued to pull her. They went passed a living room where people were dancing wildly, some shirtless while waving their clothes over their head. Kagami felt even more uncomfortable when another couple roughly her age brushed past her and Misao, the boy pulling his girlfriend by her hand and he led her upstairs to the bedrooms.

Misao finally pulled Kagami into the kitchen, where more people were drinking heavily. More empty bottles and cans littered the floor with the party still running wild and when Misao made her presence known in the kitchen, it somehow got louder. When the boys saw her, they cheered and started clapping as she made her way into the kitchen and she was happy to be there, the polar opposite of Kagami.

The twin-tailed girl was already looking for the nearest exit as she remembered the stories and lessons she got from her family, especially her parents regarding parties like this. Unlike Misao, she also paid attention in health class and knew that these kinds of parties could lead to adult rendezvous that would result in permanent diseases or infections, which scared straight-laced Kagami even straighter. She suddenly became paranoid and kept turning her head to look over her shoulder, fearful that some drunken idiot would try to either hit on her or worse make a physical move on her.

It wasn't until Kagami heard the voice of another boy call for Misao that diverted her attention. He had long black hair that covered his ears and messy bangs that drifted over his eyes with facial stubble around his jaw. He had an overall average look about him and didn't look too physically impressive but was still had more muscle tone than Kagami. His name was Ryuji Katsumoto.

"Kusakabe you son of a bitch you up for another shot competition?" Ryuji exclaimed and stepped forward with a bottle of vodka.

"Anytime you are, Ryuji! I don't know how you'll handle yourself seeing as how last time I drank against you I used your balls as olives for my martini!" Misao snapped with a smile, deepening the laughter in the room and furthering Kagami's dismay.

Kagami tugged at Misao's shirt again. "I want to go home now."

"Hey who's your friend?" Ryuji asked when he spotted the uncomfortable twin-tailed girl.

"This is my friend, Hiiragi Kagami. We graduated high school together." Misao introduced her to the guys.

"Wow…you graduated high school, Kusakabe?" Ryuji replied. "You always struck me as the Bronze Medalist in the Special Ed classes."

Misao was about to respond bluntly but hearing the sound of Kagami giggle in response to the insult made her think otherwise. She turned and saw Kagami covering her mouth and doing her best to keep her giggle from evolving into a full-blown belly laugh. Misao couldn't help but smile at the sight as her friend was finally beginning to loosen up and have some fun, even if it was at her expense.

"So you're a friend of Kusakabe, eh?" Ryuji eyed Kagami. "She's a pistol ain't she? It's just too bad she's always a misfire."

Kagami still struggled to contain her laughter as the tears forming in her eyes showed.

"Alright that's enough!" Misao exclaimed. "One more word out of you and I'll knock your teeth down your throat!"

"Easy there, Dyke Tyson." Ryuji said calmly.

Kagami's dam broke and she began laughing hysterically at the last statement. She held her stomach and laughed at the witty and quickly timed retorts from Ryuji and she had to admit that she was having more fun now. This new guy was able to crack her shell and she needed to feel at ease in this foreign and stressful situation, which Ryuji gave her so easily.

"Can I offer you ladies a drink?" He asked and held up the bottle of vodka, grabbing Misao's attention.

"Hell yeah, pour me a shot!" She commanded.

All of Kagami's laughter and returned peace of mind suddenly disappeared. "Um…no thanks. I'm underage and I don't really want to start drinking anytime soon."

"I'm underage too, Hiiragi!" Misao boasted. "What did I tell you about living a little?! It's a shot of vodka, not a shot of cyanide! It ain't gonna kill you!"

Ryuji poured two shot glasses full of the clear alcohol and Misao wasted no time snatching hers and swallowing it in one gulp. She exhaled bluntly and laughed loudly while demanding another shot. Kagami on the other hand held the small glass filled with the clear liquid and sneered at it. It looked so much like a simple amount of water but it was far from it. Still, the academic Kagami Hiiragi was curious about this new substance she held in her hand and she slowly rose it not towards her mouth, but towards her nose.

The second she inhaled the liquid's odor into her nostrils, she instantly regretted it. It was like a thunderous punch to the nose and she winced and gagged at the intrusive smell, thinking it would jumpstart a vomit. Kagami quickly took the drink away from her nose just as Misao began laughing at her.

"You're not supposed to smell it, Hiiragi! Its straight booze, not a scented candle!" The brown-haired girl exclaimed.

"How can you drink this crap?! It's gonna taste terrible!" Kagami had to yell over the loudening music.

Misao laughed again. "Hello?! Nobody likes the taste of booze, we like what it does to us! You're supposed to swallow it before you can taste it!"

Kagami looked down at the clear liquid again and was still reluctant to drink it. She knew it wasn't going to kill her if she drank it but that wasn't what she was afraid of. What struck the most fear into her were the unknowns that would follow after she would swallow the drink. The unknowns of what would happen to her body and what would happen to her entirety if her parents found out that she was at a party with no supervision and underage drinking. She could already hear the relentless scolding her parents would give her if they found out she was drinking and she became more worried. Raised in the upscale mentality that she was, Kagami feared that one false step would be the end of her, and it made her fears and the pressure on her rise.

"Hey, Kusakabe tells me you're starting college in the fall!" Ryuji grabbed Kagami's attention.

This was a subject that Kagami was more comfortable with and she slowly kept coming out of her shell. "Ye…Yes. I'm going to school in Osaka."

Ryuji nodded with a smile. "That's cool. I could _never_ do something that amazing. I mean, leaving home, packing up everything I've ever known and venture into the unknown where nobody knows my name and I have to start all over again. I'd get really lonely really fast."

Kagami inadvertently gulped. Ryuji was resurrecting all her fears that she dreaded earlier and her nerves became more rattled like the pulsing bass music echoing throughout the house. Her eyes suddenly drifted downward and she stared at the drink still sitting in her hands and she began to think.

"And to think about all the pressure my parents would put on me." Ryuji continued, making Kagami look at him again. "My parents wanted me to be a doctor and follow the family trade but I couldn't take the ongoing pressure so one night I finally said 'fuck all of you' and I started living my own way! I mean, the endless scolding, knowing that all eyes were on me, knowing that if I screwed up just once then my entire life would turn into the Hindenburg…damn I could never do what you're about to do, Hiiragi!"

Kagami responded with a forced and uncomfortable laugh and she quickly looked back down at the alcohol again swishing back and forth in the shot glass. Her heart was pounding relentlessly as Ryuji's words complemented her worries and fears regarding her future and what her parents, friends, and the rest of her family would say. All at once, Kagami could already envision the countless eyes watching her every move and to make it even worse, she would be alone in Osaka with only herself to keep her company while still feeling scrutinized over her academic decisions. It was all of this paranoia, fear, and even budding anger that kept Kagami's focus on the drink.

She slowly raised the glass again and following Misao's earlier words, she inhaled it. It was like drinking liquid fire at first until she swallowed and she felt the burning fluid rush down her esophagus, burning her throat as it went. The core of her stomach was suddenly set ablaze by the alcohol and she already began to feel better as Misao patted Kagami bluntly on the back again.

"There you go, Hiiragi! Let's do some more!" Misao cried.

Ryuji took the empty glasses and poured more of the alcohol and still focused on the internal pressure that was weighing Kagami down like an anchor, she beat Misao to swallowing it this time and to everyone's surprise, she was also the first one to ask for a third. It didn't take long until Kagami's face became red and she wobbled back and forth on her two feet as the party went on.

Misao had to guide the inebriated Kagami into the next room where the rest of the dancing was and the brown-haired girl began to dance with another one of her male friends while Kagami still struggled to keep her balance. She suddenly tripped on her heel and began to fall to her back, though she barely knew it. She did however feel someone catch her as she fell and keep her from hitting the floor.

She shifted her eyes up and saw Ryuji was the one holding her in his arms. Kagami's current condition hindered her from hearing his words clearly when he asked, "How about a dance?"

Kagami was able to read his lips and she slowly nodded and Ryuji lifted her to her feet again and to her surprise, he twirled her around on her feet, making her pigtails dance along with her and Ryuji led her. For the first time in Kagami's life, she was beginning to have fun while the vodka numbed most of her fears, though she had no idea she would have plenty of more in the months ahead.


	4. Chapter 4

CHAPTER 3

At a little past two o'clock in the morning, the front door of the Hiiragi residence unlocked and the door slowly opened. Two girls stumbled into the house and trying to hold in their laughter from their rambunctious activities they had just come from. They were three hours past the curfew that Kagami's parents established at the graduation ceremony, but they couldn't even comprehend time by this point. Misao and Kagami were still completely intoxicated by the amount of alcohol they consumed as they continued to trip over themselves and Misao closed the door a little too loudly.

Kagami shushed her. "My parents are home…I think…maybe…I don't know."

"God they're always home. It's like they think they own the place or some shit. Hey you wanna some ice cream?" Misao said in her slurred speech.

"God you're such a pig. You're a…you're a…okay I'll have some." Kagami replied with a slurred laugh.

The two girls bumped their way into the dark kitchen until Kagami found the light switch and illuminated the room. "And then there was light…beer."

Kagami and Misao giggled again as the brown-haired girl found the refrigerator and freezer and opened the freezer door. "Hey that was a bitchin' party. Ryuji and his pals are the bestest, ain't they? All that booze and dancing…I feel I should'a put out."

Kagami sounded her drunken laugh. "You did you little slut…in the closet with that one guy…"

Misao searched her blurry memory. "Oh yeah…what was his name again?"

The two girls laughed again as Misao pulled out a carton of ice cream and a box of frozen burritos. She dropped the two boxes on the counter as Kagami still struggled to keep her balance. Her bloodshot eyes spotted the box of frozen burritos and she started giggling again.

"What's with the burritos?" Kagami hiccupped.

Misao looked down at the two boxes. "Which one the burritos? They keep moving…good dancing…"

Kagami pointed to the box of foreign food.

"Oh…I don't know how he got there. He must'a just hopped on to enjoy the ride…" Misao also hiccupped.

"Like that guy you did in the closet!" Kagami exclaimed.

The two girls couldn't contain themselves anymore and they began to laugh loudly, causing activity to be heard upstairs which was the sound of more people getting out of their beds to investigate what was going on. Kagami and Misao couldn't hear the footsteps over their laughing frenzy as they continued.

Kagami opened the box of burritos and put one on a plate. Turning to the microwave, she opened it while still trying to keep her balance and bluntly dropped it in and closed the door. She then turned her focus to the numbered pad on the microwave and tried searching for the correct number that would commence the cooking time. She moved her finger up and down the dial pad until her inebriated confusion got the better of her.

"Hey Kusakabe…which one is the number five again?" She asked with another chuckle.

"Uh…the uh…the uh…the one that comes after twelve." Misao hiccupped again as she found a spatula in a drawer and began digging the ice cream out of the carton with the blunt and unnecessary object.

Kagami shrugged and pushed the first number she could see clearly. It was too bad it was the number one and the burrito began cooking in the microwave as another human suddenly entered the kitchen. Matsuri entered in her pajamas while rubbing her tired eyes.

"Hey what's going on in here? What are you guys doing up so late?" Matsuri asked as she finished rubbing the sleep out of her eye.

"Nothing!" Misao and Kagami exclaimed together.

Kagami cleared her throat and looked at her older sister. "We're just hanging out. I'm making Fexican mood so you wanna somethin' to eat?"

"Or drink?" Misao asked.

The two high school girls suddenly laughed again and Matsuri narrowed her eyes. She had seen this kind of behavior before and her first instinct was to rush over to Kagami's face and she quickly sniffed her breath. Matsuri abruptly backed away while rolling her nose and giving Kagami an angry look.

"Oh my god, you're drunk!" Matsuri exclaimed.

Kagami stiffened like a board. "No I'm not."

"I am!" Misao exclaimed, once again sending her and Kagami into a laughing frenzy as Matsuri looked at both of them with disgust.

"What the hell were you thinking, Kagami?! You're only eighteen years old!" Matsuri yelled.

"Oh god…oh god…" Misao stuttered behind Matsuri and Kagami and the two Hiiragi sisters turned and saw the brown-haired girl suddenly turn green as she began to sway back and forth.

Misao suddenly bent over, opened her mouth, and vomited quickly and loudly all over the kitchen floor, making Matsuri and Kagami quickly back away as the spew covered a portion of the floor in a collage of colors. When Misao finished her spew, she slowly pulled herself back up and swayed back and forth on her feet and looked as if she would pass out at any second. Matsuri angrily turned back to Kagami.

"Okay…maybe we are a little drunk." Kagami confessed with guilt.

"No, Homer Simpson is a little drunk! You're completely shitfaced!" Matsuri yelled, making Tadao and Miki come into the kitchen.

"What's going on in—" Miki began but stopped when she saw the large puddle of vomit steaming on her kitchen floor. "Oh my lord, what happened? Is someone sick?"

"Yeah…these two idiots are and it's called the Absolut Flu!" Matsuri snapped.

Tadao quickly rushed in and confronted his daughter. "You were drinking?! Where do you get the nerve doing that at your age?!"

Before Kagami could reply, the microwave dinged and the frozen burrito stopped cooking. Kagami turned and took it out of the microwave as if she didn't hear her father and bit into the still frozen meal, making a crunching sound in the kitchen as she chewed.

"Hey Kusakabe…I think I accidentally cooked your ice cream." Kagami slurred her speech again.

"Okay you know what? Go to your room Kagami and sleep it off. We'll deal with you in the morning. Take your friend with you." Tadao commanded and Miki escorted her wobbling daughter and friend up the stairs to Kagami's room. "Matsuri, the bucket and mop are in the hallway closet so clean this up for me."

Matsuri glared at her father's request but still obeyed as the man stormed off in anger. The only thing that made Matsuri comply was the fact that she was going to get a front row seat to Kagami's tongue-lashing in the morning by her parents. If she played her cards right, she would be able to squeeze her own revenge into the mix for making her stay up late and mop vomit off the kitchen floor.

The next morning, Matsuri sprinted out of bed and began cooking eggs in a certain way to make things even with Kagami and with any luck, teach her a lesson. Inori was already awake and enjoying a bowl of fruit and a cup of coffee as Matsuri began cooking the eggs and informed Inori of what had happened last night. Inori did find it strange that the kitchen smelled different.

"And you're saying that she was completely hammered last night?" Inori asked with a wide-eyed expression upon learning that her little sister was at an unsupervised party where there was plenty of drinking.

Matsuri shook her head as she prepared the eggs. "Let me put it this way. If someone threw a dodge ball at her head she would probably try to make out with it before she would duck it."

Inori shook her head. "I can't believe it. Kagami. Our Kagami. I still remember when she came home from health class in middle school one day after watching a movie about the dangers of drinking and she vowed to never touch a single drop of the stuff in her life."

Matsuri shook her head as the eggs continued to cook the eggs. "Yeah, well, that plastered ship has set sail. Set two plates up for me, would ya?"

Inori rolled her eyes though she complied as she too was enticed to see Matsuri's cruel revenge trick. As she grabbed two plates for Kagami and Misao, she tried to make herself feel less guilty about it and asked, "Are you sure you wanna treat Kagami and her friend like this? You might be going over the top here. I remember when mom and dad got mad at you when they found you drunk."

"That maybe so but I'm of legal drinking age." Matsuri quickly shot back. "Besides, I figured it would be better for Kagami to learn this way and from the inevitable scolding's she'll get from dad. I remember my scolding…it only made me want to drink more so trust me, this will teach Kagami a lesson. And don't go there with me. You know I hate talking about…that event."

Inori shifted her eyes away and she sighed. She still remembered a dreadful night when she received a cell phone call late at night from a drunk Matsuri. She was crying and wanted to be picked up by her and leave their parents out of it, though fate had other plans. Inori was discovered as she tried to sneak out of the house so she had no choice but to come clean. When Miki and Tadao arrived and found not only Matsuri drunk but also that she did something repulsive and almost self-destructive, it nearly drove the two parents to disown her.

An echo of sporadic footsteps walked down the staircase and the hung-over Kagami and Misao walked into the morning light, prompting them to shield their eyes from it and groan in agony while also holding their pulsing heads. Their skin was pale and their eyes were bloodshot while their hair were also two piles of messy strings as they wobbled over to the kitchen counter and sat down.

Matsuri grinned, turned and vocalized her revenge loudly. "Hey, good morning you two party girls! Sleep well?!"

Kagami and Misao quickly shielded their ears while Kagami whimpered, "Could you not talk so loud, Matsuri?"

"Sorry!" Matsuri turned up her volume. "How about a nice nutritious breakfast?!"

She walked over to the two plates Kagami and Misao were sitting in front of with her frying pan and scooped the over-easy eggs onto their plates. They were undercooked and very runny, making the two hung-over girls' faces turn a hint of green when the eggs splashed on the plate with a splat and throw runoff everywhere.

"Looks like I undercooked the eggs again! Hope you don't mind it all runny and moist and warm and sticky and smelly! Hey it kind of looks like what Kusakabe left on the floor last night so enjoy!" Matsuri added as she turned and walked towards the sink. She dropped the frying pan in the sink loudly, making their hangover worse while Inori tried to hold in her giggles.

"God…please no…take it away…" Misao whispered as she pushed the plate away.

"Well if you don't like eggs I could always make you two idiots something else!" Matsuri returned with a small pot and a metal spoon and to the girls' sudden horror, she pounded relentlessly on the pot with the spoon, making the noise and their hangovers worse. They winced and whimpered in pain as Matsuri backed away and reached into a drawer and pulled out a whistle. "Hey look, I found my old whistle! Hey Kusakabe you're in track and field, right?! Let me know if I'm doing this correctly!"

Matsuri put the whistle in her mouth and blew loudly, making Kagami and Misao scream loudly in pain as they struggled to keep the incessant noise out. Kagami reared her angry face and yelled, "Okay, okay! I get it already! I couldn't feel any worse."

"Oh I don't know about that!" Matsuri yelled and blew the whistle loudly again while simultaneously banging the pot on the kitchen counter, keeping her torture of her sister and her friend alive and well.

"I said I get it!" Kagami yelled as she still held her ears. "I have a terrible headache!"

Matsuri threw the whistle aside and still shouted. "Yeah well this is why underage girls shouldn't drink, especially if one of them is my sister! It's illegal and bad for your health and it impairs your judgment! I'm concerned about you the most, Kusakabe! You're not that smart in the first place so when you drink you're putting yourself at the same intellectual level as a bag of wood shavings!"

"Stop! Just stop already!" Kagami yelled.

"Okay?! Don't make me clean up puke at two in the morning ever again or I'll use a chainsaw as your alarm clock next time!" Matsuri finished and had her fill of revenge. She stormed out of the kitchen as her younger sister continued to rub her head in agony while fighting the urge to mimic Misao's bodily spew over the nauseating breakfast and treatment. Inori however stayed behind and felt torn upon watching Matsuri get back at Kagami. Inori knew that it wasn't fair for Matsuri to be the one cleaning up after Kagami but at the same time she couldn't help but feel empathy for her situation.

Inori placed her hands on Kagami's shoulders and began to gently massage them. "Are you okay, Kagami?"

Still gripping her head, she slowly shook it. "Never…again…never."

Inori giggled. "Don't be too hard on yourself. You made a mistake, that's all and as far as I can tell nothing else happened…right?"

"Not that I know of." Kagami whimpered. "I…I checked…myself…and it doesn't look I did anything else…or anyone."

The oldest Hiiragi daughter breathed a light sigh of relief upon learning that Kagami was able to keep herself clean of everything else despite the alcohol. "That's good. But I have to ask…why did you drink at the party? You're smarter than that, Kagami. What if the cops came to crash the party and you were arrested for underage drinking? Do you know what that could do to your future?"

The horrid pressures and relentless fears of her future hanging in the balance once again hit Kagami harder than her hangover. She gulped again and felt herself tremble while her palms became sweaty as her nerves were set ablaze again. Sweat began to form across her forehead when she began to contemplate all the "what ifs" in her mind. What if she was arrested? What if somehow word about her drinking did get out? What if it reached the college level and she was turned away because of it? What if it even reached as high as the employment level and she would never have a secured job because of it?

"I…I don't know why I did it, Inori. I…I guess I just wanted to take a break from being a conformist, if not for only one time." Kagami whimpered while still holding her head.

Miki and Tadao suddenly came into the kitchen, each one presenting a disappointed face and Inori knew her place. She took her cue to leave but before she did, she patted her sister on the shoulders and whispered to her, "Good luck, sis."

Inori abruptly left as Tadao and Miki hovered above Kagami and Misao. Kagami held her head low as she was too scared to look her parents in the eyes. It would almost be easier for her if they would yell and scream at her but she knew something even worse was coming. A lecture inspired by actions that concocted an emotion that seemed a thousand times worse than anger. Disappointment. No one in the Hiiragi family had ever seen either Miki or Tadao angry but when they were disappointed in one of their daughters, it somehow hurt a lot worse than if they were angry.

"Kagami, we're very disappointed in you." Miki began with genuine hurt in her voice, making Kagami cringe as she held her head. "We trusted you to make the right decisions and your father and I can't help but feel that you lied to us. You said there was going to be parental supervision at that party and instead, you were there with a bunch of older boys and there was alcohol involved. As your parents we have to ask…did you have sex?"

Kagami quickly shot her head up with a defensive look of her own. "No, mom! I didn't do any…dirty things…with anybody!"

Miki and Tadao looked at each other and turned back to their daughter. Tadao took charge this time and said, "Okay, we believe you. But why didn't you just come home when you saw that there was no supervision and a lot of drinking? Why did you stay and break the law and embarrass us when you got home?"

Kagami lowered her head again and gulped. Hearing about the ramifications of breaking the law was something that was eating away at her more than anything and it scared her the most. More sweat began to form across her head as her eyes darted back and forth in her hurting head while she searched for a rational explanation for her parents.

"Um…excuse me, but please don't be mad at Kagami." Misao suddenly spoke with clear guilt in her voice. "It…it was my fault. I lied to her and told her that there would be supervision when I knew there wouldn't be. She didn't even want to drink either and she even said she wanted to go home. I put pressure on her until she caved. I'm sorry so please don't be mad at her. Be mad at me."

The two Hiiragi parents once again looked at each other and back at Misao. "Okay, Misao-san, we accept your apology but that doesn't change what happened. I think it would be best if you and Kagami stayed away from each other for awhile. Now if you're feeling better, I'll drive you home." Tadao said.

Misao nodded submissively as the ball wasn't in her court. She asked to use their bathroom one more time, which they allowed and the brown-haired girl quickly left Kagami alone with her parents again. Kagami's hangover continued to burn and pulse inside her head and she tried to hold perfectly still but it didn't help knowing that her parents' eyes were leering on her.

"So what do you think should happen to you, Kagami? You may be eighteen years old, but you still live in our house and you still have to abide by our rules." Miki said with more disappointment.

"Isn't this excruciating hangover and the gauntlet Matsuri forced me to run through enough?" Kagami groaned. "I'm sorry, okay? I really am sorry and I promise you it will never happen again. The last thing I want to do is_ ever_ drink again and now all I want is to put all my efforts in getting ready for college in the fall."

Her parents exchanged another long look with each other and they simultaneously nodded. Tadao cleared his throat. "Well it does appear you have learned your lesson and from what we heard earlier, Matsuri really let you have it so we'll let it go this time. As long as you promise us this will be the last time we have to have this conversation. Do you know the reason we let her do that, Kagami?"

She slowly shook her head.

"Because she was in your spot before." Miki finished for her husband, making Kagami look up. "She got drunk at a party once and she made a few…mistakes…of her own. She just doesn't want to see the same thing happen to you. She loves you."

Though deeply surprised by the revelation and hidden family secret, Kagami couldn't deny the fact that Matsuri only had her own well-being and health in mind. It may have been tough love and a bit unorthodox but at the same time Kagami believed that it fulfilled its purpose and she could easily say that that was her first and last party she was going to attend. Kagami tried to think of this event as a learning experience so she would be able to keep her nose clean from here on out. However, she was still curious about her sister's antics.

"What did…what did Matsuri do?" Kagami asked with her eyes twitching.

Miki and Tadao cringed upon hearing the question. What Matsuri did embarrassed them so much that they did their best to keep it a secret from the rest of her sisters and simply bury it despite Inori's involvement earlier. Though the two parents were outraged when they found out, they still didn't have the heart to throw her out because of how devastated Matsuri herself was when she learned of what she did. They never saw Matsuri cry before but she gave an incredibly deep and heart-felt apology riddled with tears in the process. It was enough for Miki and Tadao to forgive her and move on, though they could never forget that dreadful event.

"It…it's not important, Kagami." Tadao said. "What is important is that you have learned your lesson and that you listen to us and especially Matsuri on these issues. Now we know you just graduated high school and made a mistake, but please, don't let this happen again. If it does, there's no telling what could happen and you are an adult now so if you mess up, you are your own problem."

Kagami gulped again though didn't want to admit that her parents were only stoking the flames of her paranoia fire. She didn't want to fight or retort in any way, shape or form. She just simply nodded to end this misadventure and hoped that it would one day disappear from her memory.

Misao soon returned, deeply apologized to Kagami and the Hiiragi family again, and Tadao took the brown-haired girl home. Kagami spent the next half hour in the bathroom brushing her teeth to get the rotten tastes out of her mouth from the combination of alcohol and the little bit of vomit she threw up on the way home last night. Her complexion was becoming clearer again and it seemed that she was her old physical self again as she looked in the mirror. She decided she was going to sit out in the sun for the remainder of the day to also help in returning her color to her skin and erase the dark circles under her eyes.

"It was just one mistake." Kagami whispered to herself as she stared at her once again pretty face in the mirror. "Nobody else has to know about this. I made a mistake and now I'm moving on. It's not like I slept with a guy…or girl. Damn you, Konata!"

Kagami shook her head to get the thought that Konata planted in her the previous day out. However, it was true that it could've been much worse for her. She cleared her throat, gave herself one more mental slap, and opened the bathroom door. As she opened it though, she was stopped by a sight that broke through her hardened exterior and penetrated where it hurt the most. Kagami looked and saw Tsukasa standing before her with her eyes puffy and bloodshot. As a fraternal twin, Kagami knew her younger sister was crying.

Tsukasa sniffed a few more times until she whimpered, "Sis…are you…okay now?"

Kagami sighed deeply and opened her arms as an invitation. Tsukasa quickly accepted it and rushed her sister and hugged her tightly, still crying a bit as Kagami pulled her closer. Despite the fact that Tsukasa graduated high school and was an official adult, she still felt scared without Kagami by her side and was still innocent to the concepts of the dangers at wild parties. With that established, anyone could imagine the shock and even terror the youngest Hiiragi daughter felt when she saw her idol and protector in Kagami in the condition she was in the previous night.

Tsukasa awoke to use the bathroom late at night and when she was busy, she heard the ruckus downstairs in the kitchen, followed up by Matsuri investigating, which eventually led to her angry voice. Tsukasa took it upon herself to wake her parents and tell them what was happening, which led them to join Matsuri in the kitchen. When Miki escorted Kagami and Misao upstairs, Tsukasa was motivated by concern to check on the situation. When she saw Kagami falling all over herself and groaning in agony, it frightened her deeply. Her initial thoughts were telling her that Kagami was hurt or worse, someone physically hurt her, which would've devastated Tsukasa.

Kagami patted Tsukasa on her back as she still hugged her. "Yes, Tsukasa. I'm feeling much better now and I'm sorry you had to see all of that. I promise you that this will _never_ happen again. Okay?"

"Okay…I love you, sis."


	5. Chapter 5

CHAPTER 4

Kagami sat outside on the back porch in the backyard letting the sun's warm rays heat her body. Sitting in the sun was helping her numbed senses return to normal while her sunglasses kept her still sensitive eyes from burning. What she liked the most about this spot was the fact that it was nice and quiet and far away from Matsuri and her ungodly whistle. Speaking of her older sister, Kagami was still intrigued by what her parents said earlier about her and her mistakes after drinking heavily. As she sat in one of the deck chairs on the porch soaking in all the sun's warmth, she still wondered what her older sister did that was so horrible that it brought her to tears before her own parents.

Kagami did have to admit as well that she never saw Matsuri cry ever in her life, but according to her parents, the middle Hiiragi daughter all but suffered a complete breakdown after she was discovered. What could she have done that made it so bad? One thing that did stick with Kagami was the incident in the kitchen where the first thing her parents asked her was if she had sex. Why out of all the questions that they could've asked did their minds jump to that one first? They could've asked her if she was hurt, robbed, beaten, or molested. They already knew she drank so they also could've asked if she also experimented with any drugs but instead their minds first went to perversions.

As Kagami continued to think of these things, she couldn't help but feel repulsed in all aspects. Was it true that her sister was both a closet drunk and slut? She always knew her older sister was rough around the edges but she never expected such behavior from Matsuri. Matsuri worked as a Miko with her at the family shrine and wore the same outfits and performed the same ceremonies as her so it almost seemed impossible that she would be capable of such dirty acts. The twin-tailed girl sneered at the thoughts of Matsuri disgracing her family's name that way. Kagami may have made a mistake but she knew that she didn't defile herself in that way, something she was proud of and couldn't help but feel disgusted by Misao in lieu of what she did last night.

What scared Kagami the most was that she vaguely remembered how she acted when she got home. She acted a fool and the worst part was how deeply she scared Tsukasa. Kagami still couldn't get the look in her younger sister's eyes out of her mind. She had never seen that kind of look before and Kagami still felt embarrassed and ashamed that she was responsible for that. Still, the twin-tailed girl took comfort in the fact that she was never going to get in trouble or do anything to hurt her family ever again.

The sliding glass door behind Kagami opened and she turned her head to see Matsuri walk out of the house and close the door behind her. Kagami quickly turned her head again and became uncomfortable as Matsuri pulled another deck chair closer to her sister and sat down. A long and unbearable moment of silence fell between the two sisters as Kagami continued to stare upward into the sky with the black glasses covering her eyes while Matsuri kept her focus on her twin-tailed sister.

"Are you feeling any better, Kagami?" Matsuri asked with real concern for her little sister.

Kagami remained silent and unresponsive with her arms folded across her chest.

"Look, I know you're probably still pissed at me and my treatment of you and your friend may have been a little extreme but I did it for you." Matsuri said with confidence. "I just don't want you to make a mistake and get hurt or humiliated or something like that. I've heard stories of things that happened like that…to my friends."

Kagami's ears perked up on her sister's hesitation in her last sentence. She felt her eyebrow twitch and her stomach churn and feared her parents may have accidentally revealed Matsuri's skeleton-ridden closet. Kagami felt sick inside her body and soul while Matsuri continued her lecture.

"And that's why I did what I did. I just want you to be safe and not make any mistakes you'll regret later in life." Matsuri began to finish. "Some things in life you only get to do once and other things will come back to haunt you either mentally or physically and even futuristically with your career. I'm just trying to set a good example for you, that's all."

Kagami turned her head and removed her sunglasses, showing her glaring face. "What did _you_ do that made you apologize to mom and dad so emotionally?"

Matsuri's face suddenly transformed faster than Kagami expected it to and through different phases. Her face first changed from serious, to shocked, to confused, to anger, and finally, to fear. The middle Hiiragi daughter looked around anxiously as if she was paranoid that someone else was watching them or worse, she was being setup for something. Why would she be afraid of being setup and especially of people watching? After stuttering several times while looking around and finally concluding she was still alone with Kagami, Matsuri turned back and faced her little sister.

"They…they…told you?" Matsuri asked with a flustered face.

"They told me that you did something that I assume was very heinous which explains why you cried your eyes out and apologized to them and begged them not to throw you out." Kagami snapped. "And you say you're just trying to set a good example."

Matsuri began shaking and she looked as if she was getting ready to cry again. "But…but did they…tell you?"

Kagami turned away. "No, they didn't."

Matsuri couldn't help it when she breathed a deep sigh of relief. She covered her pounding heart with her hand and continued to shiver, catching Kagami's attention and this time she showed concern for her sister's body language. She had never seen this kind of fear from Matsuri, leading her to believe that it truly was bad in all aspects.

"Are…are you okay, Matsuri?" Kagami asked and began to feel paranoid herself as she sat up and felt guilty.

Matsuri had lowered her head until she snapped it up and showed a very angry face. Kagami became frightened as she had never seen a look this enraged in her whole life. Matsuri's eyes were leaking tears through a gaze of pure rage while she gritted her teeth and clenched her fists. The middle Hiiragi daughter's look was one of a woman pushed to the edge and she quickly shot up to her feet, making Kagami mimic the move out of protective reflexes.

"How dare you! How…fucking…dare you?!" Matsuri screamed so loud it echoed across the neighborhood and made Kagami jump. "You have no idea of the torture I had to endure! You have no idea what it's like to be humiliated and to see the look in mom and dad's eyes when they want to disown you! I never wanted that for you, Kagami, and you have no fucking right to talk to me like that!"

The sliding glass door suddenly flew open again and Miki rushed out. "What is going on out here?!"

"Mom, you better have a talk with your daughter!" Matsuri yelled, her eyes still leaking. "She needs to learn about boundaries and letting go of things that constantly haunt your everyday mind and you…! You told Kagami about what I did?!"

Miki's eyes went big. "No, no, no! We didn't tell her! All we said was that you made some of the same mistakes you did and that we don't want her to get hurt!"

"Hurt?! Hurt?! Is that the absolute worst of your concerns, mom?!" Matsuri screamed again. "What about how it would make me look in the eyes of my sisters?! I would think that all the suffering and humiliation would be enough from everyone in the world but if they ever looked at me differently, I don't know what I would do!"

"Matsuri, calm down!" Miki cried as she watched her daughter tremble from head to toe. "They don't know about it and I promise you that they never will! Some things are better left unsaid and so they shall remain!"

Matsuri began to calm down a bit but Kagami could still see something truly gut-wrenching was eating away at her sister. Whatever Matsuri did, it was bad enough to twice bring her sister to tears and a meltdown. Kagami began to feel guilty for what she said to her older sister and she was about to make amends but the quarrel wouldn't stay down.

The middle Hiiragi daughter turned back to Kagami, still holding her angry face and she wiped away her tears. "You better watch it from now on, Kagami! We're all capable of making mistakes that will forever be a part of us and in some cases, we'll have to keep looking over our shoulder everyday to make sure they don't catch up to us again one day! Don't screw this up for yourself! You have no idea what kind of shit you will bury yourself in if you do!"

Kagami's anger was boiling. The twin-tailed girl felt that now Matsuri was adding to her increasing paranoia that she wasn't strong enough or that she wasn't getting herself together enough to tackle college in the fall. The memories of Misao's speech in the train the previous night also flashed in her mind, especially when the brown-haired girl called her out on her strict lifestyle and how detail-oriented she was. To hear it come from her own sister deeply angered the twin-tailed girl. Kagami's rage inside her mind burned like fire as she too clenched her fists and gritted her teeth. The outburst she unleashed was one of pure impulse inspired by relentless anger and frustration that she didn't comprehend before it escaped her mouth and tore her older sister to shreds.

"I'm nothing like you, Matsuri! Unlike you, I do have common sense and a concept of honor! I may have made a small mistake but I can't even and don't even want to imagine the unspeakable things you have done with yourself! I'd be willing to bet that you defiled yourself with some perverted guys and you probably enjoyed it! If that's the case I can see why mom and dad wanted to disown you because if I was in their spot, I would have! No sister or even child of mine would ever get away with whatever you did and for you of all people to tell me to watch over my shoulder for the things I've done?! You're the problem, Matsuri! No sister of mine would do the dirty things you have so _you_ have no right to speak to me the way you have! Why don't you just leave me alone or better yet just drop dead?!"

Kagami's rage-fueled rampage depleted her of energy as she breathed deeply and trembled uncontrollably. She coughed several times as her outburst drained her lungs of air and she panted ferociously while her knees buckled and her eyes focused downward. Kagami expected a tit-for-tat scenario where Matsuri would yell at her, then she would yell back, and Matsuri would return fire of her own again. What Kagami didn't expect was complete and utter silence from her older sister and when the twin-tailed girl looked up again, her heart skipped a beat.

Matsuri's face was covered with shame and guilt. It was so clear that it could be read easier than a STOP sign as her facial features were that of a scared and defenseless child. The look suddenly reshaped itself into an expression showing endless hurt as her mouth opened slightly and her eyes became bigger and sadder upon hearing Kagami's desire to see her sister die. Matsuri once again formed tears in her eyes and to Kagami's further shock and even horror, her older sister quickly covered her face and fell to her knees on the porch, following it up with a deafening and heart-breaking cry.

Miki quickly swooped in and kneeled down to her middle child and wrapped her arms around Matsuri's quivering shoulders. She held her close and tried her best to soothe her but Matsuri's crying remained consistent and relentless. Seeing her daughter in so much pain prompted Miki to form an angry face of her own and shoot it at Kagami, who still stood above them and still confused.

"I hope you're happy, Kagami! How dare you?! Matsuri has suffered enough since her own incident and your father and I have forgiven her and we've moved on!" Miki yelled, furthering Kagami's own paranoia that she just opened Pandora's Box. "How could you possibly say those horrible things to her?! You may not understand it but Matsuri loves you and would do anything to make sure you don't make the same mistake she did and this is how you treat her?! Apologize to your sister right now!"

While only post-shocked squeaks escaped Kagami's mouth, Matsuri suddenly jolted her head up, showing her angry face again and she stood up while Miki also stood with her. Matsuri glared at her sister and retorted, "You know what, don't bother, Kagami! I don't need your pity or fake sympathy! From now on, you do whatever the hell you want to and I won't be there to help you! I'm going out for a bit!"

Matsuri brushed past everyone and reentered the house as Miki quickly followed while Kagami also though reluctantly pursued into the house. The middle Hiiragi daughter grabbed her car keys hanging on the key hook near the front door and exited the house while Miki continued to call for Matsuri. Her words fell on deaf ears and Matsuri entered her car and began to speed away from the family home.

When Matsuri was out of sight, Kagami still stood in the hallway and now feared for her own safety as it was just her and her enraged mother alone. As Miki kept her back turned to Kagami and slowly closed the door, Kagami's heart continued to beat wildly in her chest as she gulped again. She knew she screwed up big time as the results of driving her older sister both to tears and out of the house to cool off showed.

Miki turned and reared a teeth-gritting glare, making Kagami quiver. The twin-tailed girl expected to be lambasted with loud and harsh words from her mother, but it still drove a knife into Kagami's heart when the kitchen lecture reincarnated itself. Miki's firm but non-shouting voice returned when she said, "You know what, I don't even know what to say to you anymore. I don't even know _who_ you are anymore. How many times are you going to disappoint me in one day until you straighten up? Matsuri's right, you know. The more mistakes you make, the more _you_ are going to be looking over your shoulder to make sure they don't become the death of you. You're an adult now so like what Matsuri said, you do whatever you want and we won't be able to swoop in and rescue you."

With her mind spoken, Miki abruptly left Kagami alone in the hallway of their home. Kagami clenched her heart again as her mother's own retort still constricted her self-esteem. For some reason, Kagami wished that her mother screamed her head off at her but every time she used the word "disappointed," it hurt so much worse. The only explanation she could come up with to this was the possibility that despite all her hard work, it still wasn't good enough to please her parents. Now because of her impulsive attack on Matsuri, Kagami felt even more guilt and pressure on her, as well as a feeling of unsatisfied closure. What did Matsuri do that was so odious that every time someone would mention it, she would fold like a map?

Regardless, Kagami still felt ripe with guilt as she slowly turned, her legs feeling like goop, and walked away. She didn't really know where to go at this point even though she was still in her home yet she somehow felt unwanted or even in a foreign land. The silence that followed after the fight was probably the worst part of it all. If she thought the calm before a storm was bad, she now felt as if she was engulfed in the calm after a battle in a war. The first thing Kagami had on her mind was to call Matsuri on her cell phone and apologize but she knew it was too soon. Matsuri would hang up on Kagami or just ignore her call altogether so the twin-tailed girl believed the best thing to do was to give her older sister some time to cool off before they could talk again. It had always worked in the past so Kagami thought this time was no different.

Kagami walked upstairs and found her bedroom, though she wasn't expecting to see Tsukasa sitting on her bed, as if she was waiting for her. The twin-tailed girl sighed when she saw her fraternal twin sitting on her bed and clutching a stuffed animal to her chest as if it was a shield and her face illustrated a child ready to cry. Her eyes weren't red or puffy so the river of tears didn't start yet but they looked as if they could if Kagami didn't say or do something for Tsukasa.

"Did you hear all of that?" Kagami asked as she sat down next to her sister.

Tsukasa nodded while whimpering slightly and hugging the stuffed animal to her chest.

Kagami gently placed her hand on the top of her sister's head and stroked it gently, making Tsukasa nestle closer to the warm touch. What Tsukasa said next however gave Kagami a chill. "Sis…why are you so angry?" She asked in a sad voice.

Hearing the question come in a meek and frightened voice depressed Kagami and she moved her hand from Tsukasa's head to her shoulder and she pulled her close. "Because…I'm only human. I'm sorry you had to hear that and I take it all back. I didn't mean any of those horrible things I said to Matsuri. I don't know what's going on with me. I've been feeling…strange…since the graduation ceremony yesterday. I feel anxious and paranoid and I don't know why."

Tsukasa turned her head to look at her sister. "Is there anything I can do to help you because you know I would do anything for you, sis."

Kagami smiled and pulled her tighter. "I know you would, Tsukasa, and thank you. But this is something that Matsuri and I need to work out together. I may not know what she did, but whatever it is, it still doesn't change the fact that she's our sister and mom is right. I need to apologize to her."

Tsukasa began to feel better as she heard her sister's calm voice. This wasn't the first quarrel Kagami and Matsuri had with each other over the years but it still was considered one of the worst. However, Tsukasa was taking comfort in the fact that it was over and despite the harsh words and revelations that were unleashed onto each other, it appeared that Kagami was serious about wanting to make amends and was sincere in her regrets. Tsukasa hugged her sister closely with a smile, who happily returned the loving gesture.

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Matsuri Hiiragi had always been one of the more social ones of her family as her life in college and her regular outings with her friends showed. Her friends were always a reflection of the good times she had and also served another important purpose. They were also her escape every time a heated argument would arise within her family so now she needed to be in the crowd more than ever. She called one of her best friends from college and said she needed to meet and talk for awhile, which her friend instantly agreed to.

They met at a restaurant they always liked to go to during their down time and Matsuri sat at a table waiting for her friend. While she sat and waited for her friend, Kagami's venomous words continued to run throughout Matsuri's mind and soul, poisoning her mentality and inner strength. Matsuri slowly spun her cell phone on the table with one hand while she rested her head in the other with her elbow on the table. Matsuri was anxiously waiting not for a call from another friend, but from Kagami. The middle Hiiragi daughter didn't want Kagami to be forced to apologize to her, but at the same time she wanted to hear that Kagami didn't mean what she said because of how deeply it hurt Matsuri.

A young woman came up behind her and sat down in front of her while sitting her purse on the table. She smiled and said, "Sorry I'm late."

Matsuri returned the smile and shook her head. "Not a problem, Koyomi. I'm glad you could meet me on such short notice."

"Well I was in the neighborhood anyway so it was convenient so what's up?" Matsuri's friend from college asked.

"I…I just had a fight with my sister so I just needed to get out of there for awhile." Matsuri sighed, her eyes still glancing at her cell phone.

"Kagami again?" Koyomi asked.

Matsuri couldn't help but chuckle. "Kagami again."

The two girls had to laugh again as Koyomi continued. "What happened this time?"

Matsuri sighed and gulped. "Well, she graduated high school yesterday and went to a friend's graduation party. Long story short, she came home late last night drunk."

Koyomi's eyes went big. "Wait are we still talking about _your_ Kagami? As in straight-laced Kagami Hiiragi?"

Matsuri nodded. "None other."

"Wow…I…I'm actually shocked. I never thought I'd live to see the day." Koyomi responded with a stutter.

Matsuri shook her head. "Same here. But it was what she said to me that still has me shaking."

"What'd she say?"

Matsuri averted her eyes, telling her friend that it was bad. "She said that if she was in my parents' spot, she would disown me. I think she's catching on about what I did."

Koyomi's eyes widened. "You…you mean she knows about the—"

Matsuri promptly shushed her before she could finish her sentence. The paranoid Hiiragi inadvertently looked around, as if she felt that all eyes were on her and everyone knew of her misdeed. She soon remembered that she was among strangers who didn't even know her name let alone what she did so she took a deep breath and continued.

"No, I don't think she knows about…the item exactly…but she knows that it was something…dirty." Matsuri said with shame in her voice. "To this day I'm still ashamed of what I did and it hurts so much. I can't even look at my parents the same way anymore because I know every time they look at me, they're constantly reminded of that incident. It's like I can't even be their regular daughter anymore and…it hurts…"

Matsuri sheltered her flushing face from her friend but she was there for the ailing Hiiragi girl. She latched onto her hand and held it in hers and said, "It was a mistake, Matsuri, not a federal offense, and you are sorry for it, I can see it. Your parents have forgiven you and they clearly haven't disowned you so you can't keep beating yourself up over this and forget about what your sister says. You know her. She says something mean one minute and then regrets it the second minute. She's probably debating whether to call you right now and apologize. And hey, if all else fails, you can always make that special paella for her and the family again. Remember that time you, me, Tomo, and Kagura came here and we ordered that and you wouldn't leave until you got the recipe from the chef?"

Seeing Matsuri smile and even chuckle warmed her friend's heart. It was a fond memory for Matsuri and one of her prouder moments when she brought that special recipe home. However, it still somehow resulted in a fight between her and Kagami, but everyone brushed it off as business as usual. Matsuri and her friend continued to talk for another hour until the middle Hiiragi daughter decided to head home. She felt refreshed about her situation and Kagami's earlier words were old news.

Matsuri suddenly got an idea as she walked out of the restaurant with her friend. She had entertained the idea of calling Kagami and to apologize for her rough treatment of her and her hangover, but got a better idea. A new shooting game had just come out and Matsuri knew that Kagami had her eyes on it for weeks. She decided she was going to get it for her as both a graduation and apology gift. Her friend in Koyomi decided to tagalong for the ride as she was also into gaming and had a few things she wanted to check out as well.

The two friends got into Matsuri's car and the middle Hiiragi daughter started driving them down the street. While driving and still talking, Matsuri's car soon approached a four-way intersection where she had a green light and saw a large semi truck approaching in the other lane towing a large trailer. As the girls approached their green light, a businessman driving a black sedan approached his red light while holding a cup of coffee in one hand while propping his cell phone against his ear with his left shoulder and began to stop. He was disgruntled because his company wasn't doing very well amidst a financial crisis that was not only devouring his enterprise, but others across the world, an ominous sign of the world's future financial condition.

In his furious anger, the cell phone slipped from his shoulder and bounced away. In a futile and ill-fated move to try and catch it, the coffee lid popped off the cup as he hit the brakes, spilling the scorching black liquid on his lap. The burning sensation made him jump and holler in charring pain, making his foot slip off the brake pedal. His car moved forward into the path of the oncoming semi truck, catching the driver's attention.

He panicked and honked the horn fiercely as he also swung the steering wheel the opposite way in a desperate attempt to avoid a collision. The massive and powerful truck horn and sudden movement caught the eyes of Matsuri and Koyomi and the two girls looked just in time to see the large iron grille of the truck cover Matsuri's driver's side window and windshield. A deafening and unholy smash suddenly echoed across the intersection.

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"I'm getting really worried about her, dear." Miki said to her husband with concern as she couldn't help but glance out the window. "She's been gone for three hours now and she hasn't picked up her cell phone or called or anything."

Tadao on the other hand seemed more reserved in his calm demeanor as he sat at the kitchen table reading the newspaper. "I'm sure she's fine. You know Matsuri. Whenever she gets mad and leaves to cool off, that means she doesn't want to talk to anybody so she ignores all our calls."

Miki walked back from the window and sat across from her husband. "You do have a point there. It just gets to me whenever our girls fight like that. This time it was different too. You should've seen the look on Matsuri's face when Kagami said all of those things to her. I haven't seen a look like that on her face since…well…you know when."

Tadao nodded, his attention still focused on his newspaper. "I know, but this is an issue the girls need to work out for themselves. Kagami is old enough to get drunk like Matsuri did once so I hope she's old enough to make peace with her sister whenever they fight."

Miki looked away and sighed. "It's times like these that I sometimes wonder if we truly did our best to raise them right. I mean you and I never did the things these kids do today when we were their age. It's like they honestly aren't afraid of anything anymore or worse, simply don't care. It appears to me that they have no idea that what they say or do to each other now or even on the Internet nowadays has severe repercussions. I once read this story in the newspaper about a teenage boy who was bullied over the Internet until he committed suicide."

The male head of the Hiiragi household folded his newspaper and placed it aside. "I understand where you're coming from but I'm not going to buy into that when we start to link our daughters to that. Despite their different personalities, none of them would _ever_ berate or belittle anyone or themselves without care and especially not on a place like the Internet where everyone in the world can see. We raised four beautiful, smart, and above all, respectable girls and despite some of their mistakes, nothing could taint their perfect hearts. You should be proud, honey."

Miki couldn't help but grin as she folded her hands. "I am. But I still can't help but worry about them sometimes. You know, I was shopping with our neighbor the other week and when I told her about Kagami's and Tsukasa's graduations, she smiled and said that I've officially retired."

Tadao tilted his head in confusion. "Retired?"

"Yes. What she meant by that was that it's a mother's job to be there and love her children and support them in no matter what they may do or pursue and then the day comes where they'll be on their own." Miki sighed. "Hence, my job at mothering them and swooping in to save them is over. I'm retired now."

Tadao chuckled. "You'll always be their mother. I know you, Miki, you could _never_ retire from being their mother."

Miki giggled back. "You know me so well."

As the husband and wife sat in the kitchen and continued to reassure the other, their phone began ringing. Inori walked into the kitchen before either of them could get up and she was originally heading towards the refrigerator. She redirected her route to the phone and picked it up.

"Hiiragi residence." She opened.

The new conversation the oldest Hiiragi daughter was starting didn't even register in the minds of Miki or Tadao. Not until a pause and Inori spoke again.

"Um…Matsuri is my sister and she does live here. May I ask what this is about?" She asked.

The parents turned their heads and Miki slowly stood with a confused expression. She couldn't understand any words but could clearly hear a voice coming out of the phone into Inori's ear. A sudden feeling of déjà vu swept Miki when she saw her oldest daughter create a remake of the last expression she saw on Matsuri's face before she drove off in a sad and angry stupor. Inori's breathing changed first as she breathed deeply and sporadically, bordering on hyperventilating. Her eyes suddenly flooded and her face became red as she shook her head no while registering all the voice was telling her.

Her knees buckled and she suddenly slid to the floor and began crying. Miki and Tadao quickly rushed over to Inori and Tadao grabbed the phone from her grip as Miki comforted her oldest daughter.

"Hello? Who is this?" Tadao asked anxiously and listened to the voice. "Yes I am Matsuri Hiiragi's father."

Amidst the growing chaos, Kagami and Tsukasa entered the kitchen together. The youngest Hiiragi daughter looked at the scene and began to panic instantly when she saw Inori's reactions despite the absence of intel for her to comprehend. She snatched Kagami's hand and squeezed it tight. She squeezed it even harder and began to cry herself when she saw Tadao quickly stand and start yelling, "No!"

"What's going on here?!" Kagami exclaimed.

Inori looked up. "Matsuri was in a car accident! She's dead!"

Tsukasa screamed loudly as full-blown panic suddenly took control of the Hiiragi family. Kagami's eyes went big and her pupils shrank as sweat formed across her head. Her heart nearly exploded and it felt as if she was gutted when she suddenly remembered the last words she ever spoke to her sister.

"_Why don't you just leave me alone or better yet just drop dead?!"_


	6. Chapter 6

CHAPTER 5

To become a husband and a father was one certain man of faith's lifelong dream. Ever since he was in middle school, all he wanted was to find his significant other and to make and raise his children with her. While the rest of his male friends were hitting puberty and could only think of one thing when it came to the girls, he was always different. All he wanted was to connect with that one special girl on a mental and spiritual level before they would join each other at the physical level. Though he was given a rough time for it by his friends, even they knew he was pure of heart and didn't have a single bad bone in his body and they knew he would someday make that one special girl very happy.

Tadao Hiiragi had a relatively easy and simple life growing up. His father was a very religious man, much like the path he would one day follow. He had only the best principles and concepts taught to him by his father, who played a major figure in not only Tadao's life, but also all of Japan during the occupation by the United States in the years following the war. After four years of relentless bloodshed in the Pacific, the war finally ended and the nation of Japan faced unprecedented fears of uncertainty when the occupation of the American government and military forces began.

With the island nation left in shambles by the war, the US Government setup numerous programs to help rebuild Japan to do everything from reestablishing the Japanese Government, to setting up food drives for the starving. One of those programs was known as Government and Relief in Occupied Areas, also known as GARIOA, and overseen by American General Douglas MacArthur. It was also one of the first programs to have direct Japanese civilian involvement, mostly by local and religious leaders to gain the trust of the Japanese public.

One of the religious men involved was named Taichi Hiiragi, Tadao's father. Everything that people knew about Tadao was a carbon copy of his father. Taichi was revered by his local community as an icon and he played a large part in bringing a sense of peace in the postwar jitters. He helped American soldiers unload trucks of food and supplies to the general public and continued to play a supportive role in rebuilding until the occupation ended in 1952.

However, what Tadao took away the most from his father was not his immense kindness or spiritual teachings that made him revered in his community, nor his cooperation and peacekeeping role with the Americans. It was his views on the female gender as a whole that inspired young Tadao to be a step above most boys his age when they started noticing girls.

Taichi Hiiragi saw women as a class that bordered on the godly. In his eyes, they were creatures that were the epiphany of everything that involved purity and especially the gift of life. According to Taichi, he had tremendous respect for all women as he, as well as every single human on Earth, owed their very existence to women. They were the mothers that gave birth to the human race, as well as the wives that gave love and comfort to the men they loved and the children they birthed. This was why Taichi held the female gender close to his heart and soul and saw them as sacred treasures of the Earth that always needed to not only be loved, but also protected. He also connected with ancient religions such as the Celtics that also shared the same concepts regarding women, and especially in Buddhism, where Queen Maya, mother of Gautama Buddha, was hailed as a hero for giving birth to the future religious founder and becoming a martyr as a result when she died shortly after the birth.

With all of these lessons forever sealed in his mind, it didn't take long for Tadao Hiiragi to catch the attention of many of his fellow students when he was in high school. Some saw him as a nerd or a little "too feminist," for lack of a better term, while in other cases he caught the attention and the respect of many of his female counterparts in his school. Some girls were flattered by the deep conversations and his sentiments towards them and even charmed by him, while others didn't know what to make of it. One girl however parted the crowds and caught his attention more than any other one day.

Miki Orihara was a lot like Tadao in the regards where she too was different, though in a more diverse way. While Tadao's upbringing was simple and sometimes financially constrained, Miki was born into a rich family. As an only child, she was showered with endless lavishes and luxuries that became a double-edged sword for her social life. She was blessed with two supportive and loving parents who, like any other normal mother and father, wanted their child to only have the very best and anything less than that was considered barbaric and even bordered on child abuse. However, all of these luxuries made it hard for her to make friends, even when she was a little girl.

Upon entering high school, she only had a few friends as the other students were uncomfortable around someone of her sumptuous upbringing and even intimidated by not only her wealth, but also her beauty. Miki was always grateful for her parents and every yen they ever spent on her to ensure that she was never uncomfortable, but she still longed for a simple lifestyle and even becoming a mother one day. The young woman was truly blessed with the life she had because she had the money and the ability to literally become anything she wanted, but her biggest desire was so pure; to know the joys of motherhood. She also always wanted to know what falling in love felt like. She may have had one or two crushes in her life, but they would come one day and would be gone the next. What she wanted was the real thing; to connect with a man that would sweep her off her feet and truly fall down the warm and sensational abyss that was love.

She met Tadao Hiiragi one day in their high school's library. She was always a notable student and studied hard, but even she came across a subject every now and then that was beyond her reach. For her, the subject was history. Miki corralled mountains of books around her at a table and sat alone, trying to comprehend the material that was surely going to be on her history final. She tried to copy notes in her notebook but struggled to memorize all of the important dates, key figures, and motives.

As she sat alone, Tadao entered the library and sat at another table for his own studying session and his eyes suddenly caught sight of the lonely young woman. As with many of the other boys who saw Miki, he only saw beauty. Though she looked stressed and frustrated, Tadao could see that everything about her was flawless. Her long hair that dangled to her lower back that flowed so freely and playfully, her violet eyes that looked like two exquisite pools of peace, and skin that was clearly soft and delicate. He didn't even know her and he could already see she also had a beautiful soul that burned brightly in her eyes. Tadao knew this lonely girl was not a diamond in the rough, but rather the entire shining jewel itself that was perfect in all aspects.

He glanced at the pillars of books surrounding her and saw they were history textbooks, which was his best subject thanks to his father. Tadao was interested in her right when he first saw her, but at the same time didn't want to disturb her. It was when her body language began to show clear frustrations and the desire to call it quits that prompted him to scoot closer to her. He asked her if everything was okay, which she said yes and added that she was just frustrated about her upcoming history final. He kindly offered his services to help her, which she accepted given her situation. The two became fast friends, especially after Miki aced her history final. For Miki and Tadao, the rest, as the old saying goes, is history.

When Miki accepted his marriage proposal, it seemed that all of Tadao's dreams were coming true. He finally had a wife and soon, a daughter, then another, and then two more on top of that. Unfortunately for his father, Taichi Hiiragi wouldn't live long enough to see the birth of his twin granddaughters, though he was already proud with Inori and Matsuri. Tadao never forgot his father's philosophical wisdom regarding women so when Miki blessed him with four daughters, he saw it as divine planning before his eyes.

Given Tadao's history and views on women and his daughters, no one in either his family or his community could even begin to comprehend his grief and pain when he delivered the funeral service for his own daughter. Despite the act she did that contradicted every principle he ever taught her and nearly drove him to disown her, Tadao couldn't throw his own flesh and blood out no matter how grotesque it was. Matsuri Hiiragi was tragically taken from him and the rest of the family by a horrible accident and now, he felt that not only had another gem disappeared from the world, but it was his gem.

Matsuri Hiiragi was laid to rest one week after the accident, as was her friend who traveled with her that day. Regrettably, Kagami would never know of the conversation Matsuri had with her friend the day she died so she never knew of Matsuri's intentions. She didn't know that her older sister was going to make amends to her with an apology and a present, but now Kagami also lost her chance to say she was sorry to Matsuri and to tell her how much she loved her. Instead, the twin-tailed girl believed that she drove her sister to her grave with her angry outburst and words that came to fruition. Kagami felt endless guilt and the family not only grieved for Matsuri, but they also began to worry for the twin-tailed twin because she hadn't spoken a word since her older sister died. She grunted and whimpered every now and then to answer a question but since her own meltdown along with Tsukasa after the police called and informed them of Matsuri's death, she completely clammed up and shut down.

At the emotional service at a nearby cemetery, the Hiiragi family sat at the front of the rows of mourners, their watery eyes latched on a closed casket covered with flowers standing above a freshly dug grave. All dressed in black and watching their male household leader in Tadao read from his religious scripture, he glanced up every now and then to see Kagami. In her black clothing, she still stared at her sister's casket resting only a few feet in front of her, her eyes still leaking while she held a blank expression on her face. So much Kagami wanted to say to Matsuri, yet all her words would be in vain and would bring no closure to this feud that brought the middle Hiiragi daughter's death and endless regret and shame to Kagami.

Tsukasa held onto her sister's numb hand as she too cried while Miki sat next to Tsukasa, her arm wrapped around her shoulder and also sobbing. Inori sat alone, her face nestled into her two open hands as she cried. Though many friends of the Hiiragi family came to pay their respects to the late Matsuri, one friend in particular watched the funeral from afar, also dressed conservatively with her long blue hair tied in a ponytail.

Konata stood under a tree and watched the emotional and heartbreaking scene unfold before her eyes. Though she never knew Matsuri at the same personal level as Kagami and Tsukasa, she now regretted it because of not only how badly this was hurting her best friends, but also because she knew that Matsuri had to be a good person and was going to be dearly missed. Anyone related to Kagami and Tsukasa Hiiragi had to be some of the best the world had to offer, as the two fraternal twins proved by simply being themselves on a daily basis. Konata wanted to rush over to Kagami and hug her and Tsukasa as tightly as she could and say the magic words that would take away all their pain.

However, Konata knew there was only one problem as she leaned against the tree. No magic words existed in any language that could even possibly begin to reassure her friends that everything was going to be okay. Konata didn't know every single detail, but Tsukasa did text her several times and informed her that Kagami and Matsuri had a fight before the latter passed away and the former never got the chance to say she was sorry. Konata knew that that was something that would be nothing short of mental torture for her twin-tailed friend. Still, Konata wanted to be there and be able to hold Kagami and Tsukasa closely when the service was over, as the end of it approached.

Tadao finished his ceremony and everyone held their heads low as the casket still sat before them. Everyone kept their mouths sealed shut to keep the harmonious yet ominous silence upon the graveyard as a show of respect for the late Hiiragi daughter. As everyone kept their heads kneeled, Kagami slowly lifted hers and gazed at the flower-draped coffin that held the body of her sister. Knowing that she would never see her or hear her voice again and that her body would be committed to the cold, dark soil instead of the warm and loving atmosphere of the family home made the tears leak from her eyes.

How could this have happened to them? Kagami only graduated high school with her sister and then, after a grueling fight, Matsuri was taken away from them. It wasn't fair. Kagami was about to start school in the coming months with the death of her sister still fresh in her mind, leading her to think that she was going to be in a world of endless pain. In addition to Matsuri's death, Kagami felt the mounting pressure of her own lifestyle as pointed out by Misao, as well as the scolding and reminders that her life could shatter if she made another mistake like at the party. Kagami however believed that she already made another mistake and now her sister was dead because of it. She felt sick to her stomach and wanted to throw up but she tried to keep it all in as the mourners began to depart the heartbreaking scene.

One by one, the supporters of the local community began to leave the cemetery. Some approached Tadao and said more words of comfort to him, as well as to Miki and her three surviving daughters. They all kindly nodded and thanked them, but it still didn't help or heal the scars that now pained their minds. After another fifteen minutes, all of the mourners had exited the cemetery, leaving only the five remaining Hiiragi family members.

Konata sighed and slowly walked out from under the tree and approached the grieving family. The birds singing happily and flying overhead in the beautiful blue sky above them brought a contradicting mood to everyone involved in this tragedy. One of the nicest families Saitama has ever known had suffered a devastating loss, yet the entire community was more than likely out and enjoying this day while they were busy burying their daughter.

The blue-haired girl made her approach, catching the Hiiragi family's attention and Tsukasa could no longer contain herself when she saw her friend appear at Matsuri's funeral. The youngest of the Hiiragi family rushed over to Konata and hugged her tightly and cried loudly, prompting the blue-haired girl to return the hug and rub her back gently.

Konata lifted her eyelids as Tsukasa continued to cry on her shoulder and looked at Kagami. The twin-tailed girl's attention was still fixated on Matsuri's coffin and she slowly walked over to it and she simply stared at it with her crying eyes. As if she suddenly transformed into a block of ice, Kagami froze and stood before her sister hidden in the flower-covered structure. The twin-tailed girl completely disregarded Konata's existence while Inori continued to seek comfort in her parents.

"How's Kagami?" Konata whispered lightly into Tsukasa's ear.

Tsukasa slowly looked back and sniffed. Her only response was to slowly shake her head, telling Konata that her twin sister was still an emotional train wreck and a silent one at that.

As Miki and Tadao escorted the still crying Inori away from the coffin to help calm her down while Kagami still stood above the casket, Konata gently slipped out of the hug and walked towards Kagami as Tsukasa continued to mop the tears out of her eyes. The short blue-haired girl stood behind Kagami and was still at a loss for those desperately sought magical words and didn't know what to say. She wished she could trade places with her best friend if it meant that she wouldn't be sad anymore.

Regardless, Konata had to say something despite the absence of anything magical. "Kagami…I'm sorry. I'm so sorry…I…I don't even know what to say."

Suddenly, Kagami quickly spun and opened her mouth to speak for the first time since Matsuri's death. "There's nothing to say. My sister is dead. I killed her. Congratulations on graduating, Konata. Now leave me the fuck alone."

Upon finishing her angry and bitter request, Kagami brushed past Konata, nearly shoving her out of the way as she continued walking away. Konata stood as she looked downward and slowly turned her head, her eyes now beginning to flood as well upon hearing how deeply hurt and broken Kagami's voice was. One tear escaped her green eye as she sighed and looked away again.

The first thing Kagami said in a week and it was not only to Konata, but it was also for her to leave her alone. The ailing twin-tailed girl also walked past her crying twin sister, still upset and scared by the loss as she kept her face covered and wailed, her knees trembling in her depleting energy. Kagami disregarded her very existence as well and continued walking, as if she didn't hear her cries of mental agony and Konata sighed again.

The request by Kagami for her to keep her distance hurt Konata deeply, though she knew that her twin-tailed friend was in mourning and needed time to grieve. However, Konata was never going to truly keep her distance from her friend. She would always be there for her and, like anyone else in her family, would drop everything she's doing and run to her if it would help. Unfortunately, Konata still couldn't help but think one question to herself as she heard Tsukasa continue to weep while Kagami still ignored her.

_Why do I feel that so many dark days are on the horizon?_

(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(- )-(-)

Two weeks had passed since the death of Matsuri Hiiragi and the household that she used to call her own had been deafly quiet ever since. When Kagami uttered her cold and dark words to Konata, she once again silenced herself and remained quarantined in her room. She would come out every now and then for the usual necessities, whether it was the bathroom or for meals, but then immediately retreated to her room again. Everyone was worried about her as they knew why she was acting so strangely. The last encounter Matsuri and Kagami had was still fresh in the twin-tailed girl's mind and she was convinced that she murdered her sister by driving her out of the house. She didn't even care about the lewd act Matsuri committed that nearly got her thrown out of the house anymore. Kagami just wanted her big sister back.

As Kagami now rested on her bed and curled in a tight ball, she hugged one of her pillows to her chest while she rested her head on another. Her eyes still dripping tears and staring into space, Kagami breathed deeply after completing yet another meltdown on her bed. She sniffed and trembled while feeling alone and cold. She had weathered some tough times before in her life but never had she encountered something this terrible.

A knock sounded on her door and before she once again ignored the person behind it, they opened it and Inori slowly walked in. She left it open and sat down next to Kagami, who remained unresponsive and distraught over this turbulent ordeal. The first thing Inori did was rub her sister's crying head and she began sobbing silently again.

"I don't know how many times we have to tell you this, Kagami, but what happened to Matsuri wasn't your fault. They're called car _accidents_ for a reason." Inori whispered.

Kagami didn't respond.

"We're really worried about you, baby sis." Inori added. "You know, before you and Tsukasa came along, Matsuri was my best friend. We were as close as you and Tsukasa are and we were completely inseparable. Because of that and that I've known Matsuri longer than you have, I can safely say that she doesn't blame you either. If she was here, she would probably be the one to grab you by your ankles and drag you out of bed herself if she thought it was necessary."

Still, Kagami remained silent.

"Anyway, I brought someone over and I thought that maybe she could take you out for a walk and get some fresh air. It's a beautiful day out, you know." Inori said and turned back to the door. "Okay you can come in now."

Kagami still stayed comatose, even when she heard another person enter her room and felt her sit down next to her. The twin-tailed girl's mind concluded who it was and she muttered bitterly, "I told you to leave me alone, Konata."

"It's me." A voice said that wasn't Konata's but was more pitched and blunt.

Kagami turned her head and saw Misao Kusakabe sitting next to her and Kagami squinted. "What are you doing here?"

"Your sister called me and told me everything that happened." Misao replied quietly and even with some guilt in her voice. "I think we need to talk about a few things. What do you say we go out for a bit? It's a nice day outside like your sister said and some sunshine will be good for you."

Inori stood and left Kagami's room to give her sister privacy. She hoped that Kagami would accept the offer to get out of the house, if not for only an hour and out of her dark and isolated room. Her mind needed to be focused on other things because the more she sat in her room, the more she could only think about Matsuri and their last encounter. From there, Kagami would only feel worse and worse. Misao was well aware of what happened to the middle Hiiragi daughter and also felt guilty because everything led back to her lying to Kagami about parental supervision being at that party.

"Why you of all people?" Kagami snarled and turned her head away again.

"Because I feel guilty about what happened to your older sister. All I wanted was for us to have a good time together, maybe have some life changing experiences and grow closer together but instead…this happened." Misao said with sorrow. "Seeing you like this is only making me feel worse so please, get out of bed and let's take a walk. We don't have to go far or anything, maybe just around the block once or twice."

Kagami shifted her head further into her pillow. "I don't want to go anywhere."

Misao lowered her eyes. "There are a few things I want to…no…there are a few things I _need_ to tell you and I can't do it here. You're the only one I can tell these things to so please, come with me and let me get all of this off my chest."

The twin-tailed girl closed her eyes and sighed deeply. She still didn't want to go anywhere but knew the stubborn persistence Misao possessed and that she would never know peace again unless she went with her. Reluctantly, Kagami slowly pulled herself up, her bones creaking and cracking with her movements and showing how long she had been immobile. She rubbed her puffy eyes several times as Misao waited downstairs for her to change clothes and freshen up a bit. The brown-haired girl did her best to keep her eyes focused on the floor as she sat in the living room and was surrounded by family pictures, most of them including Matsuri in their images with the family. It was like being in a museum of horrific reminders that one of the Hiiragi's was no more.

Kagami soon came downstairs fully dressed, her purse with the long thin strap hanging from her shoulder and she had a discontented look as she walked towards the door, again not acknowledging Misao. Kagami left it up to her brown-haired friend to follow her as the two girls left the household and began walking down the street towards the town.

With her arms folded across her chest, Kagami held her bitter and distant facial expression and snapped, "Well, what is it?"

"I needed to tell you that I'm sorry. I'm sorry that I lied to you and that all that happened. It was never my intention, Hiiragi." Misao said, almost ready to cry.

"You told me that already. A few times actually so what makes this any different? My sister is still dead." Kagami bit back.

"Please, I'm just trying to help." Misao submissively replied.

"You're trying to help yourself by making yourself feel less guilty well fuck if I'm gonna help you do that!" Kagami raised her voice.

Misao became defensive. "I wasn't the one who told Matsuri to drop dead!"

Kagami froze in her footsteps. Her angry and discontented face was abruptly replaced by an expression of deep pain that was always there, but simply masked by anger. "Who…who told you that?"

"Your little sister." Misao snapped back.

"…Tsukasa…"

"That's right. She's still crying too, you know." Misao snapped and began to try and push Kagami's attitude back as it now involved her sister. "Your little sister is still upset, scared, and confused by all of this. She misses your big sister too but all she wants is you right now and you're pushing her and your other friends aside."

Kagami gulped and once again felt her heart clench inside her chest in mental pain. Ever since the funeral, she remembered Tsukasa had never stopped crying while Kagami started throwing a pity party for herself and disregarded her very existence. It hurt Kagami even more when she remembered a few times when Tsukasa would knock on her door and ask if they could talk, but Kagami would ignore her, making the youngest twin cry again and leave.

The twin-tailed girl sighed with guilt and asked, "Is this why you dragged me out here, Kusakabe?"

To her surprise, Misao shook her head. "Not exactly, though I still stand by what I said regarding your sister. She's your hero, you know. Wherever you go, she goes, but only because you're there with her."

Kagami nodded. "I usually don't say these kinds of things…but I love her. I love her so much."

"I know you do, Hiiragi. Anyway, I wanted to tell you that I take back everything I said on the train about how you need to let go of your old lifestyle and live a little loose." Misao said. "I don't want you to end up like me. You know how I told you on the train that I was taking a year off to go on camping trips across Japan before I would even touch college?"

Kagami nodded.

"I lied about that, too. I was rejected from all the schools I applied to." Misao confessed, making Kagami gasp lightly. "I was at another party and got into a drinking contest and got so wasted, I stripped off all my clothes and pictures of me hanging upside-down from a tree in my undergarments surfaced on the Internet. When the schools ran their background checks and found them, they turned me away."

The twin-tailed girl gulped again and felt a chill down her back. She remembered she was so excited when she got her acceptance letter from her first pick school and to think that college was most likely not going to be an option for her friend because of her decisions that became property of cyberspace.

"Then why did you lie about something like that?" Kagami asked with real concern.

"Because…I still wanted us to be friends. I know you, Hiiragi. You're a strong, smart, and above all, honorable young woman who looks down on people who act like that and for good reason." Misao confessed. "It would've broken my heart if you too found out and you distanced yourself from me, so I tried my best to cover it up. Everything I did was wrong so please try to forgive me one day."

Though Kagami was once again shocked by her friend's confession and skeletons in her closet, she did have to admit that Misao not only had the best intentions in mind, but she was also a good friend to her over the years. Kagami felt like her parents now when they had to deal with Matsuri's mistake and, like her parents, Kagami didn't have it in her to simply kick her to the curb and erase their history as if she was hitting the delete button on a computer keyboard. This still didn't make her feel any better about how she treated Matsuri in the end, so Kagami continued to walk around and engage Misao in conversations to take her mind off the family tragedy.

The two girls continued walking around the neighborhood and eventually made it into the town as the night sky settled upon the land. As they walked past several restaurants, they approached a bar and three guys walked out, one of them was a familiar face to both Kagami and Misao. It was Ryuji Katsumoto from the party a few weeks ago that started all of this dismay.

As he approached the two girls, he recognized Kagami instantly by her trademark pigtails. He smiled and approached them both and said, "Misao…and Hiiragi, right?"

Kagami looked up at him and nodded once with a blank face then averted her eyes.

Misao stepped forward and said, "Uh…tonight's not a goodnight to hangout, Ryuji. Hiiragi…she…there was a death in the family not too long ago."

Ryuji instantly showed a face of deep remorse and sympathy. "I'm so sorry, Hiiragi. I know how it feels to lose somebody. How have you been holding up?"

Kagami took a deep breath. "It…it was my sister I lost. I said some pretty…despicable things to her before she died so…I'm still in pain."

Ryuji nodded and reached into his pocket and pulled out a small notepad and also retrieved a pen and began writing. He tore the paper off and handed it to her and saw it was his phone number.

"Anytime you want to talk…or if you're ever in the need for some…items…that will help ease the pain…give me a call." Ryuji said, his eyes looking around quickly, as if he was fearful the wrong person was listening in on him. "Me and the boys gotta go so we'll catch you girls later."

The young man and his friends quickly left the scene as Kagami still stared dumbfounded at the piece of paper. She turned to Misao, who held a look of suspicion with narrowing eyes at the departing Ryuji.

"Did…did he just ask me out on a date or…what was that about?" Kagami asked as she stuffed the paper in her pocket.

Misao huffed at Ryuji, placed her hand on Kagami's back, and continued to lead her away. "Forget about it, Hiiragi. Besides, you're too good for him anyway. He has…he has a history."

"History?" Kagami asked as they approached another outdoor bar where it seemed another graduation party was happening.

"Yeah, I know him. He's uh…he has a history of dealing drugs." Misao snarled with a look of disgust. "He can get anything but like I said, you're too good for him and girls as beautiful and classy as you should be dating the Prime Minister's grandson, not some lowlife drug dealer like him."

Kagami nodded and made a mental note to throw away the piece of paper when she got home.

The two girls continued to walk side-by-side and approached the bar with an outdoor setup of tables and chairs, where they saw there was a party happening for a young man who had graduated college. It was very rambunctious and there was heavy drinking involved among the dozen young men, making Kagami cringe. The horrid memories of her first and last drinking experience and the following consequences still haunted her as she continued walking with her friend. However, she had a bad feeling about this.

It was confirmed for her when she heard one of the boys exclaim, "Hey look at what we got here! Two little lotus blossoms walking down the street looking for a good time! I know we are!"

Kagami formed a glare and glanced over her shoulder to see a man in his mid-twenties approach them with a big inebriated smile and a glass beer bottle in his hand. He had a short haircut and was pretty muscular, telling Kagami he was probably a jock. The twin-tailed girl was instantly disgusted by both the man and his advances so she turned her head and kept walking forward.

"Hey baby, my friend here just graduated and we could use some _special_ entertainment if you catch my drift! How about it?! We'll make it worth your while!" He pursued Kagami. "Maybe do a dance, maybe take something off, show him a good time, you know!"

The twin-tailed girl gritted her teeth as her anger rose. She quickly spun around and yelled, "Fuck off you pig before I shove a tree branch up your ass and mop the ground with you!"

The sudden and blunt retort from Kagami sent the young man's friends into a laughing frenzy while some even hooted for the twin-tail's attitude. Misao herself also giggled as Kagami turned back and kept walking away with her. However, Kagami's earlier bad feeling was about to become validated. Hearing a girl like Kagami not only reject him but knock his male ego down several pegs in the process made him angry. He was the type of guy who was _never_ rejected by a girl so the only thing that could justify his bruised ego was a bruised Kagami.

He dropped his beer and rushed over to the shorter girl. Violently latching onto one of her pigtails, he pulled her almost off her feet, prompting her to scream in pain and fright as a fight began. Misao quickly reacted and rushed the muscular guy and tried punching him until he released her but his muscular body acted a shield to her blows. As he dragged the screaming Kagami by her hair, the guy's friends weren't as hostile as he was and rushed to help the girls. They pried his hand off her and let Misao pull Kagami away as they pushed the raging man back.

Kagami rubbed her head and trembled as the college graduate who was being celebrated rushed to the girls. He bowed in deep regret several times while exclaiming, "Please, please forgive us, ladies! Our friend, he's…he's not himself when he drinks! Please forgive us!"

"I don't give a fuck if he's like that when he drinks! He assaulted a woman so now we're calling the cops!" Misao screamed as she stood in front of Kagami and the heated feud was drawing more public attention. A bartender inside was already on the phone with the police reporting the incident but this didn't cool off the heated exchange.

"I know but please there's no need for this! We're deeply sorry and we'll—"

Before the upset college grad could continue his apology, the raging muscular lunatic that attacked Kagami broke free from his friends' grip and reached into his pocket. He withdrew a switchblade knife, opened it, and reared the weapon.

"I'm gonna kill these bitches!" He yelled and pushed his way towards Kagami again ready to use the weapon.

The college grad who first apologized quickly used himself as a shield to protect the two girls but to his horror, it didn't detour his drunken friend. He didn't recognize his friends by this point as he took a swing with the knife, cutting the former student's face and knocking him out of the way as he bled. The drunken man plowed past another male friend trying to stop him until he eyed Kagami who tried to turn and run.

Misao however threw herself in the way and once again fought to keep the angry man away from her friend. She tried to wrestle his thick arm for the knife but unfortunately for Misao, she always had a thing for impulsive actions without thinking everything through. The man grabbed her by the hair and pulled her aside, flailing his other arm like an angry gorilla until the knife dove deep into the brown-haired girl's abdomen.

More and more people congregated onto the scene to assist and more men tackled the angry assailant and pinned him to the ground as Misao fell. Kagami watched the whole ordeal from beginning to end and screamed her lungs empty when she saw the shining blade enter her friend's body. She quickly rushed over to Misao and held her in her arms as the blood continued to flow out of her.

"Hold on, Kusakabe!" Kagami yelled and cried.

"Hiir…Hiiragi…are you…okay…?" Misao whispered and took Kagami's hand cupping her cheek.

Kagami nodded fiercely while still crying. "I'm fine. You saved me there!"

"You…you would do the same thing for me." Misao whispered. "Thank you, Kagami Hiiragi…for being my friend."

Kagami held Misao close and continued to tell her loving and supportive things as more people crowded around and did their best to apply first aid for the wounded girl. It didn't take long until the police and paramedics arrived, but they landed at a scene that Kagami was once again forced to become familiar with. The twin-tailed girl coddled her friend in her arms and cried even when Misao died at the scene.


	7. Chapter 7

CHAPTER 6

No one would've believed it if it was said that Kagami Hiiragi would lose her sister and one of her closest friends all within the same month. Regardless, it was a duo tragedy that took everyone affected by it completely by surprise, no matter how close or distantly they were involved with the latest victim. Upon the death of Misao Kusakabe, Kagami once again withdrew into an impenetrable shell of silence that no one could crack. The twin-tailed girl never spoke since her encounter and the testimony she provided to the police, which led to the drunken man at the graduation party being arrested and charged with the crime. However, upon arriving home from Misao's funeral, Kagami once again secluded herself in her room while her parents sat in the living room and disagreed on the best course of aiding their distraught daughter.

"We cannot force her into therapy if she's not a direct threat to either herself, us, or anyone else!" Tadao exclaimed to his wife as the two bickered. "Now Kagami has suffered two incredible losses this past month in a time that she should be filled with joy but you have to admit that none of us have seen any signs of self-harm or drastic decisions on her part. She's smarter than that and she knows how terribly it would hurt all of us."

Miki couldn't help but agree with her husband. She lifted her face upward towards the ceiling, where Kagami's room was one level above them. Sighing, she rested her head on her hand and added, "First her sister…now her friend. How could fate be _this_ unfair to a girl like her? Ever since Inori was first born and all our daughters after her, we always taught them that if they work hard and preserve even in the toughest times, good things will happen to them and this is the end result of Kagami's hard work. This is nothing short of a nightmare."

Tadao nodded. "I know that and I know that you want Kagami to start talking about everything but she doesn't want to. I mean we were barely able to get her to write her testimony for the police but luckily it was enough to charge that bastard with Kusakabe's murder. Did you see how she acted at her funeral today?"

The Hiiragi housewife rubbed her forehead in anguish for her daughter and nodded. "She wasn't crying or making any gestures at all and this was practically worse than Matsuri's death. I mean, that girl bled and died in Kagami's arms. She was covered in her blood and it was without a doubt a horribly traumatic experience…but I still can't get over how she acted."

Tadao nodded again, this time nervously. "I did. She wasn't crying or anything. She just sat there and watched it from beginning to end. What alarmed me the most was that I watched her the entire time and she didn't move once. I mean, not a twitch, not even to scratch her nose, nothing. The only movement she did was blink."

"I think she was trying to block it all out." Miki said. "She's been through enough and she has a lot on her plate with that party, then Matsuri, and now this, plus she's going to start college in a few months. She still needs to get packed because she'll be moving."

"Honey you haven't told me one thing so far that I don't already know and I get why you want Kagami to open up about this, but she's not doing anything dangerous or threatening to either herself or anyone." Tadao retorted. "I support your idea of her talking to someone but like I said, Kagami is an adult and we can't force her into a therapist's office if her only red flag is not wanting to talk. I do understand your concern because…to not say a single word for a whole week."

Miki glanced away. "This…this isn't how I envisioned Kagami's life. When she was a child and every time I saw her play with and hug Tsukasa, I always knew that her life was going to be filled with joy and happiness, but then…this…"

The Hiiragi housewife covered herself as Matsuri's face suddenly flashed in her mind and she began to weep. Tadao's natural instincts kicked in and he scooted over to his wife and hugged her, who returned his warm embrace. She sniffed and huffed several times while thinking about the untimely departure of her middle child. Tadao held himself together for his wife's sake and allowed her to vent her agony over Matsuri's death, which she did stridently.

As he held her close, Inori and Tsukasa slowly walked into the living room, the oldest with her arm around the youngest who continued to cry. Inori guided Tsukasa to a seat and continued to rub her shoulders while the entrance grabbed their parents' attention.

"Any luck?" Tadao asked.

Inori turned her head to him and shook it with remorse. "No. We tried to get her to come out but she wouldn't say a word to us. Tsukasa couldn't even get her to come out."

Hearing this only made Tsukasa weep harder as she believed that she was failing her sister. "I…I feel so bad. Sis is in…so much pain…and I can't take it away from her. I just…I just want her to…smile again."

Tsukasa once again began to cry while taking her tears away, prompting Inori to hold her tight again. "There, there, Tsukasa. You didn't do anything wrong. Kagami she…she needs time to mourn. She went through two very harrowing experiences."

The youngest Hiiragi daughter sniffed twice and nodded. "Kagami…I…I love her so much…!"

Seeing her youngest daughter in grieving pain, Miki swooped over and also hugged the sniveling Tsukasa. Though Tsukasa could feel the love flowing from her mother and oldest sister into her, this still didn't take away from the fact that she knew her fraternal twin and idol was still in her room, a broken girl.

As he watched the scene before him, Tadao slowly turned his head towards the staircase that would lead to Kagami's bedroom. Even though he knew Kagami well and always believed in his heart that she would never resort to something as foolish or grotesque as self-mutilation to deal with pain, it still didn't take away from the fact that she was in riving pain from her losses. It was because of the extent of her suffering that led Tadao to believe that the tragedies could cloud her usually good judgment and make her do things that she would later regret.

He had given Kagami a lot of space since the death of Matsuri and tried to let her sisters break her out of her dark cloudy storm, but so far all their attempts ended badly. The man rose to his feet and informed his family he was going to try and talk to her and he walked up the stairs while Tsukasa continued to mope.

Upon arrival at Kagami's door, he knocked twice and said, "Kagami, can we talk?"

No answer.

"I'm coming in now so I hope you're decent." He said and opened the door.

He found his daughter still on her bed and curled into a trembling ball with her flooded eyes staring out the window. Tadao closed the door behind him and sat on his daughter's bed. Though she was in a horrible predicament, the father was able to look past that and see her colors that always seemed to glow. Even in her darkest hours, all Tadao could see was beauty in his daughter, Kagami Hiiragi, both inside and out. Resurrecting his old teachings and preparing them in his mind, he first began by resting his hand on Kagami's head, feeling the silky smooth follicles of her long, grandiose hair.

"You know Kagami, I know I've told you this before, but you never got a chance to meet your grandfather, Taichi Hiiragi. It's times like these that remind me that that is a real shame. You would've gotten along so well with him and he probably would've been your idol." Tadao said softly for his daughter. "You know, your grandfather always saw girls like you and women in general a lot differently than most boys and men do. He believed that all women have a strength deep within them that cannot be measured or compared to even the most masculine of men. He believed that women, by their very nature and creation, are the strongest entities on Earth and whenever I look at you, I know he's right."

Kagami blinked several times and tilted her head towards him, telling Tadao that she was listening so he persisted.

"Think about it, Kagami. Women have not only the ability to bear children, thus ushering in a new life, but they also have the ability to bear the pain involved with it. In addition to being forced to feel horrible pain from childbirth, they can also somehow feel relentless love and affection for the children they bear and the men that vow to protect them. It's because of all the burdens they have to bear that is why your grandfather believed that women are godlike and sacred creatures that need to be protected and loved at all costs."

Kagami rested her head on her pillow again but Tadao added more.

"My point is that you are a young woman, Kagami, and you are stronger than you could ever imagine. I know you have been dealt a horrible set of circumstances with Matsuri and Kusakabe and I can only imagine the pain you feel, but Kagami, you are strong enough to overcome all of this." Tadao began to gently rub his daughter's head. "Your mother wants you to see a therapist to talk about all that you feel, but I don't believe you need one because of how truly incredible you are inside. If you want to see one, we'll call and make an appointment for you, but you know your whole family is here for you. We also just want to hear your voice again, Kagami. We love you so much."

Upon Tadao's completion of his rant, Kagami slowly pulled herself up, making him shift back a little on her bed to give themselves more space. Kagami rubbed her watery eyes, sniffed, and looked at her father. She choked, "Am…am I being punished, father?"

"Punished for what and by who?"

"By the gods…for my drinking at the party." Kagami whimpered as she averted her eyes. "I can't help but feel that my sins are catching up to me by taking Matsuri and Kusakabe away from me. Matsuri did something that she regretted at a party and Kusakabe confessed to me that she did too before she died. Is this my punishment?"

Tadao shook his head. "No, Kagami. You're not being punished by anyone or anything. Your sister and your friend made mistakes and they were just tragically taken from us. That's all. Nothing more and nothing less so please don't read too much into superstition when thinking about this."

"I'm glad that pop-pop isn't alive to see all the things that happened. If he saw what I did and all the things my friend did, he would be so ashamed." Kagami sniffed again. "Even though I never met him, I know he wouldn't see me as jewel. I made a fool of myself at that party, I drove Matsuri away and she died, and Kusakabe died trying to protect me. Everyone close to me dies."

"Now, now, don't talk like that, Kagami." Tadao ordered sternly and scooted closer to Kagami on her bed and to her surprise, he scooped her up and held her close in his arms. For once, his hard-nosed daughter accepted his warm gesture and held onto him as well. "Your pop-pop would be very proud of you and all that you have accomplished so far. He would hate to see you like this, though, so come on. Let's go downstairs and see the rest of your family again. I'm sure they want to see and hear from you again, especially Tsukasa."

To his surprise, Kagami suddenly pulled herself out of his hold on her and scooted away upon hearing the request. What surprised Tadao even more were the two words that escaped Kagami's mouth. "I'm scared."

"Scared of what?"

"Scared of how they'll see me from here on out. No matter what I do or say, it will never take away from the fact that I was the one that upset Matsuri so much that I drove her out of the house and she died. It's because of that that I'm so scared that every time they'll look at me, they'll only see me as the one responsible for Matsuri's death. Especially Tsukasa." Kagami began to cry again. "I finally understand what Matsuri meant the day she died. I also wouldn't care if the entire world thought I was the worst human being alive, but if any of my sisters saw me as a murderer, I couldn't go on. I wouldn't want to!"

Kagami shielded her face from her father and continued her relentless sobbing as she sat on her knees. Regardless, Tadao placed his hand gently on Kagami's head again and pulled her close. He kissed her softly on her forehead while she continued to struggle with her tears and trembling.

"You're talking crazy, Kagami. You know your sisters, your mother and I don't see you as a murderer. Matsuri loved you and she still does, as well as your friend who died protecting you." Tadao reassured. "I can see that this still has you deeply upset so would it make you feel better if we called a therapist. Don't feel pressured to answer either way because you know your family only wants the best for you, right?"

Kagami slowly nodded. "I…I just want to be alone. I need my space. I…I think I should also call Konata. I said some pretty…mean things to her at Matsuri's funeral. I think talking to her will help."

Tadao formed a small smile and nodded. "Okay, dear, I understand. I'll leave you alone but don't forget that all the love and support you could ever want is just downstairs waiting for you."

Kagami nodded again. "Thank you, dad."

Tadao took his daughter's hand and squeezed it gently. "Remember what I said. You are stronger than you could ever imagine and you will pull through this."

With all he needed to say finally out in the open, Tadao stood and gave his daughter the space and peace she needed. He closed the door behind him, leaving Kagami alone once again in her room and silence engulfed her as before. Hugging her knees to her chest, Kagami continued to sniff until her body swayed and she landed on her side on the bed. She took a deep breath and sighed out more of her pain and crawled back to her pillow.

As she buried her head in her pillow, she tried to remember everything her father told her about her inner strengths. She always knew that she was tougher than the average girl but right now she felt weak and exposed in all aspects, especially after the death of Misao Kusakabe. She thought that if she was so strong, why did she lose her temper and drive Matsuri away or why did someone have to die to protect her like Misao? Kagami did her best not to think about these things but knew it was a losing battle, especially when she accidentally reminded herself that she still had to start school in the fall.

She still had moving and living arrangements she had to worry about and the fact that she had conversations with Matsuri weeks before her graduation where the older sister promised to help Kagami with them every step of the way only further deepened the twin-tailed girl's dismay. She couldn't stop thinking about all the other times she and Matsuri quarreled and sometimes the two made amends while other times their problems remained unresolved. Now she truly understood what people meant when they say you never truly know what you have until it's taken away from you.

Feeling swallowed by this infinite solitude, Kagami slowly rose and sat up again, still hugging the pillow to her chest. She suddenly began to feel something beginning to form inside of her at her body's core where the pain continued to burn wildly. This bubbling sphere of unrelenting sorrow and pain continued to build and metastasize inside her core, yet she felt her entire mentality start to become numb. Everything began to turn cold for her and the next chill she felt formed goose bumps across her arms, prompting Kagami to hug herself tighter and rub her arms quickly. She began to suspect something strange was beginning to take place in her body and Kagami feared it was a transformation.

All the anguish and suffering she was feeling was still there, yet it seemed that her mentality was beginning to distance itself from all the pain. She hoped that it was all part of the recovery process, but it wasn't happening fast or efficiently enough. If she was recovering, then why was she beginning to think so many bad thoughts about herself and what she could do to block all the pain and forget about the trauma? She was always renowned for her good decisions and her seemingly never-ending supply of rationality, yet she was considering doing something that many would see as horrible and it would hurt her family so much.

Yet despite all of these horrible repercussions, Kagami still considered the idea of suicide. Her intuition was beginning to split where she would actually weigh both the "positives" and the "negatives" of committing suicide. She was beginning to treat the idea of suicide as deciding on buying a new appliance and would weigh all the positive and negative things she liked or didn't like about it. When someone starts to weigh the possibility that there is even one "positive" thing about suicide, it's a tell-all sign that something's wrong.

Still sitting on her bed, she began to shift herself to the side until she stood up and began to pace inside her room while still hugging her pillow. The things she believed about herself completely contradicted her father's earlier words about her so-called responsibility in Matsuri's and Misao's deaths. Kagami was completely innocent in these tragic turns in her life, yet she still felt guilt for both of them as she continued to pace and began to mutter with the pillow covering her mouth.

"If I do it…I would want it to be quick. If I had a gun this wouldn't be an issue. I don't want to feel any pain or see a lot of my blood. I could just go downtown and jump off a building. There is plenty of tall buildings downtown so I wouldn't feel a thing when I landed…but then I would have the fall to deal with. What if I get up there and I can't do it and somebody notices?" Kagami's grim hypothetical scenarios made her voice tighten. "They'll think I'm crazy. They'll think I need to be in an asylum or something. So I either have the choice of my family seeing me as the associate to murder or the crazy person who tries to commit suicide."

As these morbid and macabre thoughts continued to storm in her mind, something suddenly clicked on the night of Misao's death. Kagami froze in her footsteps and turned her head to the clothes hamper. She dropped the pillow and dashed over to it, pulled the lid off, and began to dig in the pile of dirty clothes looking for a specific pair of jeans. After pulling all her dirty and wrinkled clothes out, she found the jeans she sought and began to dig through the pockets. The first one she dug in was empty but to her further astonishment, her budding happiness went through the roof when her fingertips touched a crumbled piece of paper.

She grabbed it and pulled it out, and opened it. She held the piece of paper containing Ryuji's name and phone number and according to Misao, he knew how to get a hold of certain commodities that could take immeasurable amounts of pain away. Her heart pounding as she took her cell phone and dialed the number, she twirled her long pair around her fingers waiting for the dial tones to end.

A male voice soon picked up on the other side, making Kagami stiffen.

"He…hello? Ryuji?" Kagami asked. "This is Kagami. You met me and…Kusakabe…at the party."

Ryuji remembered her and was also up-to-date regarding Misao and offered his condolences to Kagami as he knew they were close.

"Thanks. Listen. I'm…I'm in a real, real bad spot right now and…I'm thinking some really bad things because…this pain." Kagami paused and more tears forced their way out of her eyes. "I was hoping that you…that you had…anything…that could get me through this. I don't know how much more of this shit I can deal with before I snap and go crazy. So…do you have…something for me?"

Ryuji gave Kagami a quick crash-course in the business he was the proprietor of and it didn't seem to faze Kagami or flare her angry side. She barely knew what she was getting herself into but also knew she was a rookie at this kind of thing and was going to need his help. Her emotions were so distorted and fractured by this point that it was clouding her good judgment and common sense as she setup her first of many encounters.

"Okay…I'll meet you at the clock tower in the park tomorrow at noon." Kagami finished.

Kagami lowered the phone away from her ear and closed it.


	8. Chapter 8

CHAPTER 7

As hard as she tried, she couldn't sleep at all that night. Kagami tossed and turned in her bed and tried every possible comfortable position but it was no use. The haunting memories of the past month continued to replay in her mind and to a certain extent, Kagami was relieved that she didn't sleep because she would only dream about two departed people she truly missed. Ever since Matsuri's death, all Kagami could see in her mind was her face and at times, she could hear their last fight before she left the house for the last time. The only thing she could do to take her mind off these swirling intuitions of pain was to watch her alarm clock tick by second after second, minute after minute, hour after hour.

Kagami watched it all the way into the early hours of the morning and began to pull herself up when she saw the glowing sun outside crack through her curtain-drawn window. She sat at the edge of her bed and continued to roll the idea of meeting Ryuji today in her mind, wondering if this was truly the best viable option for her. Even though she knew her family was there, she still didn't have any faith. She had faith in them, but not in herself. Regrettably, in that self-imposed isolation, Kagami's guilt was able to convince her that she was neither worthy of their time or love. Aside from suicide, there was only one other option to numb the pain of her dead sister and friend.

She slowly stood, stretched, and walked to her door. Slowly opening it, Kagami's pain and guilt began to break her spirits once again when she looked down and saw a sight that made her want to cry. Her younger fraternal twin Tsukasa was propped against the wall asleep in her pajamas with a blanket covering her and a pillow keeping her back comfortable. It was now abundantly clear to Kagami that Tsukasa had spent the entire night just outside her bedroom door, unable to leave her ailing sister's side. It only further proved Tsukasa's love and loyalty to her big sister.

Sighing deeply, Kagami slowly stepped forward and sat down next to her sister and looked at her. The twin-tailed girl never really saw it before, but Tsukasa was very cute when she was asleep. Her soft snores that were carried on her feminine voice, her soft and delicate features in her morning complexion, and her overall sweet and caring persona that never seemed to fade. Everything about her was wonderful and Kagami gently pulled her sister close as they continued to sit in the hallway.

The slight disturbance in bodily movements gently awoke the younger twin and when she lifted her eyes and saw her sister hugging her, her energy spiked. She quickly tightened the hug around Kagami and when she pulled back, Tsukasa began to examine her sister from head to toe. When she saw that Kagami was fine, Tsukasa sniffed and hugged Kagami again with growing happiness while rubbing her back.

"Are…are you okay now, sis?" Tsukasa whimpered. "Please tell me you're not suffering anymore…because when you're hurting…I hurt too."

At only six o'clock in the morning, Tsukasa once again began crying as she held Kagami, barely noticing that Kagami remained unresponsive to her sister's ecstatic gestures. Kagami depressingly replied, "We'll see, Tsukasa. But I have a sense I'll be feeling better before today is over."

Though Tsukasa was still innocently oblivious to her sister's phone call the previous night, she heard the words from Kagami and interpreted them literally. Tsukasa's happiness began to come back and for her, hope seemed to be returning. The youngest Hiiragi daughter's desire to see her sister happy again was so desperately craved that she wasn't able to hear the inflections in Kagami's voice that painted a portrait of a girl about to throw herself off a cliff. She only heard the words, not the emotions, but that was still good enough for her as Tsukasa stood up and also pulled Kagami to her feet.

"Let me fix you breakfast, sis!" Tsukasa exclaimed happily. "After that, I want to go shopping with you! I saw this sale on outfits at the mall advertised in a magazine and I really thought they would look great on you so please say yes!"

Still staring at the floor, Kagami was afraid to look her younger sister in the eyes. She knew how much Tsukasa looked up to her and even though Kagami hadn't thrown herself down her planned abyss yet, her eyes were still soaking in guilt from all that she believed she had done and all that she was going to do. To keep Tsukasa's recovering happiness afloat, Kagami slowly nodded to accept all of her sister's warm affections, which was followed by Tsukasa grabbing her older sister's wrist and guiding her downstairs. Tsukasa joined hands with Kagami, something she hadn't done since their first day of middle school and it was her way of showing that she didn't want to let go of her big sister.

The once again happy youngest Hiiragi daughter led Kagami downstairs and into the kitchen, where Kagami took a seat as Tsukasa let her go and began preparing breakfast for her. She was so caught up in her rediscovered euphoria that she still didn't notice the life essence in Kagami's eyes was gone while she stared dumbly at the table as she sat. To a certain extent, Kagami was grateful that her sister didn't have the ability to read minds for if she did, it would lead her catatonic in fright and horror if she learned of everything going through Kagami's head. Tsukasa's innocence continued to show as she hummed happily over the stovetop and began talking to Kagami again.

"We're gonna have so much fun today, sis! I'm going to make you a great breakfast and then we'll get to spend the whole day together! I still have that magazine where I saw all those ads for the sales so I'll show it to you while you eat and you can pick out all the places you want to go." Tsukasa planned happily and loudly.

It soon caught the attention of her parents and the two slowly walked downstairs and witnessed the new scene of life unfolding in their kitchen. Miki observed everything first and asked with a yawn, "What's going on?"

"Look mom, sis is feeling a whole lot better!" Tsukasa happily proclaimed.

Miki and Tadao turned to Kagami and saw her physical form sitting there, but it wasn't as pretty of a picture as Tsukasa's emotions illustrated. The concerned mother slowly bent down to look Kagami in her eyes as she continued to project them downward with their focus on the table. They still screamed depression and guilt over what happened with even a hint of a mind pushed to the edge and on the verge of shutting down and pushing everything out.

"Are you okay now, dear?" Miki asked to measure her daughter's response.

Upon hearing her mother's voice, Kagami blinked several times and looked up, her eyes showing more life and color in them. "Yes…yes I think I'm going to be fine now. I just need to take my mind off everything and Tsukasa said she would take me shopping."

"Oh? That sounds nice." Tadao said with a smile.

Miki slowly pulled her head back and also followed her husband's gesture, though for different reasons. She added with a fake smile, "That does sound nice. You two girls have fun today."

"We will, mom." Tsukasa enthusiastically replied and continued to cook for her sister.

Trying to make it look casual, Miki guided her husband into the living room while Tsukasa added more to the conversation while Kagami once again went silent. When the two were out of range, Miki wanted to express her concerns but Tadao vocalized his observations first.

"Well, uh, she seems a bit better, don't you think?" He asked.

Miki glanced at her two distant daughters one more time until she turned back. "I don't know. Did you see the look in her eyes? I can't quite put my finger on it but something is telling me that she's not out of the woods and I don't think Tsukasa can see it."

Tadao scratched his chin. "It is possible that Tsukasa just wants her sister back and is overstepping some boundaries, but you have to admit that her heart is in the right place. I mean, she was finally able to get Kagami to come out of her room and you know how badly she felt when she couldn't do that the first few times, right?"

Miki sighed and nodded. "Yeah I guess so."

"And besides, maybe some fresh air and exercise and being in the crowd with Tsukasa will do her some good. It'll keep her mind busy and she's better off with Tsukasa than confined to her room all day where she can only dwell on Matsuri and Kusakabe." Tadao retorted.

His wife couldn't argue with his logic but still couldn't shake the feeling her mother's intuition was giving her. She had never seen that kind of look in Kagami's eyes before and it disturbed her not only because of how depressed it looked, but because it also disclosed hints that she was planning on doing something that she would more than likely disapprove of. Miki concluded that it was all still part of her daughter's recovery process and tried to put it out of her mind. She had to admit that it was a heartwarming sight to see Tsukasa care so greatly for her older sister and all that she wanted to do to cheer her up despite her own wounded heart from losing Matsuri.

(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(- )-(-)

Kagami continued to play along for Tsukasa's sake as they walked side-by-side each other at their local mall. Tsukasa still clutched the magazine while practically bouncing off the walls with great enthusiasm as it seemed to her that she was finally able to puncture Kagami's frigid and isolated persona. Though the twin-tailed girl didn't say much throughout the day, she still smiled and nodded or agreed with Tsukasa every now and then, if only to keep her smiling and laughing. Tsukasa didn't notice it though but Kagami kept glancing at her watch whenever her back was turned since there was a specific appointment Kagami had in mind.

"It's this one in here, sis!" Tsukasa snatched Kagami's clammy hand and guided her into the clothing store amidst the busy shopping center.

Tsukasa knew where she was going and led Kagami to a corner of the store where it held several complementary ensembles of skirts and tops and the youngest Hiiragi twin wasted no time in styling her sister. Kagami complied and played along and even made suggestions herself to make the wardrobe more into her personality, but everything she did for Tsukasa was a show. The twin-tailed girl didn't know it, but her mind was in the early stages of a civil war; one side trying to keep her in the light by sticking close to her family and reciting her father's words the previous night, while the other side was pulling Kagami towards a darker and dangerous part of the world she lived in. Regardless, Kagami could still see that Tsukasa only had love to give so the twin-tailed sibling extended her charade.

Even though her conscience was still heavily battered by all that had happened within the past month, Kagami still had to admit that she had fun with Tsukasa. They visited so many clothing stores and to Kagami's surprise and even premature disapproval, Tsukasa even bought a few outfits for her sister with her own money. When Kagami confronted Tsukasa on this, the innocent and caring twin wouldn't have it any other way and wouldn't leave until they walked out with a new wardrobe for Kagami.

As Kagami and Tsukasa made their way to the food court, they approached a store that didn't even register in Tsukasa's mind as she walked past it with a smile still on her face. However, when Kagami made her way past it, she felt an ominous chill run down her spine when she turned and looked up at the sign containing the store's name.

_The Black Window_

Kagami's eyes drifted and spotted several different types of wardrobes worn by mannequins, most of them female. The clothes were the kind of articles that would _never_ be worn in the Hiiragi household. Short miniskirts with short tops that gave off promiscuous vibes, as well as fishnet leggings and knee-high black boots, and tops that revealed the navel and barely covered the breasts, in addition to tight leather pants designed for showing off specific curves and had small chain links wrapped around the belt loops. Other ensembles included simple shirts and hoodies that contained graphic images of the grim reaper, graveyards, and other dark illustrations.

Any other day of the week, Kagami would've huffed in disgust at such promiscuous outfits, yet she somehow couldn't help but feel that she too was now standing at a black window in her mind and was about to open it. With her eyes still scanning the store's window displays, her sister's words echoed in her mind until she snapped herself out of her trance when Tsukasa spoke again.

"Hey Kagami, are you okay?" She asked sweetly and Kagami turned her head again to look forward at her.

Tsukasa was standing and waiting for her, still ignorant of the civil war raging in her sister's mind that the light side was now losing ground on as the darkness pushed forward. Regardless, Kagami quickly shook her head and strolled up to Tsukasa's side, allowing the two to continue walking as she replied, "Yes I'm fine. I just thought I saw something weird."

"Oh, okay." Tsukasa charmingly replied with a giggle. "So how about some chicken curry? I know it's not exactly lunch time yet but all that walking really got me hungry."

Kagami giggled back and agreed with her as they eyed the food court one floor below them in the crowd of other shoppers. As Kagami observed the food court from their balcony position, something not only caught her eye, but it also drove a knife deep into her heart. She saw a girl sitting with her back turned towards her with auburn-colored hair in a familiar ruffled style and had a figure that Kagami wouldn't mistake for anyone else, along with the appropriate age.

Matsuri.

Kagami once again froze in her footsteps as she squinted to try and confirm all that she was seeing as Tsukasa once again stopped when she realized her older sister halted as well. She called her name again but this time Kagami wasn't going to respond. The twin-tailed girl was convinced she was seeing her dead sister and when the person she watched stood and readied to leave, Kagami dropped all her shopping bags and made a mad dash for the escalator that would take her down to the part of the food court to head off this reincarnation of Matsuri.

Tsukasa screamed Kagami's name over the crowd but she ignored her and continued to plow her way through the crowd, knocking several people out of the way in the process. Kagami arrived at the escalator and quickly spun around to step on it, nearly knocking an elderly shopper over in the process as she panted and continued to run down the already moving structure. Nearly tripping on the step at the bottom, Kagami stumbled forward and regained her balance as she ran into the food court and saw the auburn-haired girl still walking towards the mall's exit.

Her heart pounded relentlessly and sweat dripped from her forehead from her physical exercise and the mounting stress and excitement. In Kagami's mind, she was convinced that her big sister couldn't have been taken down by something as petty as a car crash so she still had to be alive. Kagami wanted to believe that in the worst way as she continued to plow through the walls of people.

Kagami pushed forward and this time knocked over a man carrying a tray of food, making a scene and a splatter. He yelled angrily at her as more people in the food court turned their heads upon hearing the commotion and saw the frantic twin-tailed girl make her final approach to her target.

"Matsuri!" Kagami cried and grabbed the shoulder of the auburn-haired girl, making her quickly spin and reveal her face while also attracting attention to the scene she was creating.

Kagami's hopes were smashed and her heart was broken in a fraction of a second when the face met her eyes. It wasn't Matsuri. This girl was a complete stranger and the only thing she had in common with Matsuri was her hair color, style, and age. Kagami was startled and jumped back in surprise and the full reality began to set in as the strange girl backed away from her with confusion and in fear. The two stared at each other in the awkward setting until Kagami was forced to come clean.

"I'm…I'm sorry. I just…you…you…I thought you were somebody else." Kagami quickly said towards the end with guilt and embarrassment.

"Uh…forget about it." The girl said and quickly turned and scurried away, leaving Kagami standing alone in the center of the food court with all eyes on her.

She could hear some children giggling at her while most of the adults were whispering about her. Kagami once again felt a chill run throughout her body and she couldn't help but hug herself tightly and lower her head. Turning to walk away, she did her best to keep her eyes locked on the floor to avoid contact with everyone's judgmental stares. Seeing that the drama was over, most of the people in the food court lost interest and resumed their business until Kagami made it back to the escalator and saw Tsukasa arrive at the bottom with all the bags in hand and a sad look on her face.

"Sis…?" She asked meekly, prompting Kagami to look away again.

"Tsukasa…I'm not well. I think I'm sick." Was Kagami's only response.

Tsukasa's face scrunched as her eyes swelled. Thinking she had made a mistake by taking her out, Tsukasa whispered bleakly, "Do…do you want to go home now?"

When Kagami wasted no time in nodding while still hugging herself and looking down, Tsukasa felt her eyes constrict with water and she nodded back. She felt defeat once again and her conscience was bruised badly as she felt that she had failed Kagami once again. As bad as Kagami felt, Tsukasa felt worse and guided her quiet and upset sister out of the mall, some people still watching them and gossiping.

The Hiiragi twins stayed silent amongst themselves from the time they left the mall until they reached the train station. It was an agonizing fifteen minutes, especially for Tsukasa. All she wanted to do was help Kagami and cheer her up but it was now clear to her that her sister had a long road to recovery ahead of her. Thinking that this mall outing was a bad idea and nothing more, Tsukasa was still unaware of what was truly racing through Kagami's mind as the silent twin-tailed sibling walked beside her.

There was no doubt about it in Kagami's mind anymore. She had seen her dead sister in physical form and made a spectacle out of it at the mall. Feeling she was at the edge of her rope, Kagami concluded there was only one thing left to do in the absence of suicide. She had hoped that this outing with Tsukasa would prove to her that she was going to be okay and persuade her to abandon her meeting with Ryuji, which as far as he knew was still a go. Regrettably, Kagami was now convinced that she would forever be trapped in this endless maelstrom of guilt, sadness, and dark thoughts. If she couldn't escape the pain and guilt by ending her life, she would do the next best thing in her mind. She would numb the pain with whatever she could and she was counting on Ryuji to show her the way.

"I'm sorry about today, sis. Really. I just wanted to make you feel better. I guess I should stop trying and give you your space." Tsukasa whimpered with defeat. "I just love you so much and I told everyone last night that I just want to see you smile again. Please don't be mad at me."

Kagami was able to exit her futuristic mindset and returned to reality where Tsukasa walked in torment. She placed her hand on Tsukasa's shoulder, grabbing her attention and the youngest Hiiragi twin's sorrow was cast away when she saw Kagami smiling at her for the first time in more than a month. Seeing the picturesque and even scenic gesture on Kagami's alluring face made Tsukasa squeal with happiness and hug her sister in the middle of the crowded station.

As soon as Tsukasa's face was hidden past Kagami's, the twin-tailed girl's smile disappeared as she hugged her sister back. "Tsukasa…you love me, right?"

Once again, Tsukasa was blinded by her inflated emotions and didn't hear the tone in her sister's distraught voice. "Of course, sis. I love you so much."

"And…and you'll _always_ love me…no matter what I do…right?" Kagami whispered and hugged Tsukasa tighter upon finishing her question.

Tsukasa pulled back and still couldn't see the pain and budding darkness in her sister's eyes. Replying with her usual charming and cute smile, Tsukasa said, "You're my sister, Kagami. My hero and idol. I could _never _feel anything less for you than pure love."

Kagami felt her face burn red and she quickly looked away. With a lump in her throat, she uttered, "Tsukasa…thank you."

The train roared into the station and when it came to a stop and the doors opened, Tsukasa led the way into the car with her bags in tow as Kagami followed. She followed at a much slower pace and when she was aboard the train, Tsukasa was lucky enough to find an empty seat and she sat down while waiting for her sister. Kagami suddenly stopped to adjust her shoe, though it was just an act.

The alarm on the train sounded and the doors began to close, prompting Kagami to make her first of many bad moves. She quickly stepped off the train and back onto the platform just as the doors closed and she quickly looked down. Staring at the concrete, the last thing she heard was her sister's frantic voice calling her name, which was followed by her small fists pounding on the windows.

Kagami still held her head low and allowed her hair to cover her eyes as the train began to speed away with the screaming Tsukasa aboard, leaving only Kagami alone on the platform. The wind created by the train's movements made Kagami's long hair dance and when the train was gone, she slowly lifted her head again, revealing her crying eyes.

"Tsukasa…I love you…and please…forgive me." Kagami whispered as she turned and walked lifelessly like a tumbleweed blowing in the wind towards the nearby part with a clock tower in its center.

Kagami arrived at the peaceful park and eyed the clock tower standing high above the area with several benches at its base. Trembling with every step, she wobbled to one of the empty benches and took a seat while looking at the time. She had five minutes to spare yet her changing attitude gave her a prelude to what her new lifestyle was going to be like. She was already addicted.

Exactly three hundred seconds makeup five minutes and every single one of them felt like a venomous jab at Kagami's heart. With each tick, she felt her body clench tighter and tighter in tension and anticipation that her ongoing pain would soon be buried. Sweating, teeth chattering, knees quaking, and eyes darting in every direction out of paranoia, Kagami didn't know how much longer she could take. As her whole body began to shake like a baby's rattle, a meltdown was soon imminent.

"Hey there." A male voice said from behind Kagami, making her quickly turn and look up at Ryuji, who was carrying a black satchel over his shoulder.

Kagami instantly calmed down and breathed deeply as she scooted over and allowed Ryuji to sit next to her. "Hey yourself. So…do you have something for me?"

Ryuji observed the twin-tailed girl and tilted his head. "Straight to the point I see. I like that in a client. Although I do have to ask; do you know what you're looking for or even how to use it once I give it to you?"

Kagami looked away. "No. My whole life I sneered at this kind of lifestyle and the people who involved themselves in it and I would feel like such a hypocrite…but my pain now trumps my principles. So I'll ask you…will you teach me? Will you be able to take my pain away and make it so that none of this happened?"

Ryuji's observant eyes continued to scan and analyze the twin-tailed girl. He tried to search for any sign or clue that she was bluffing so he could protect himself and his business. Yet when he looked at her, all he saw was the shell of a once idealistic, strong, smart, and confident girl. The two traumatic events that caused her such agony hollowed her completely and now her she sat before him open and vulnerable.

Ryuji nodded and opened his satchel. He pulled out foreign items to Kagami's dying mindset and sat them before her. One was a small bag filled with a white powder, along with a Zippo lighter, a bent spoon with burn marks all over it, and a syringe with a needle in a sealed bag. Kagami gulped upon seeing the needle and quickly looked away.

"What…what is this stuff?" She whimpered.

"It goes by many names but the technical term is heroin." Ryuji replied. "If you want to feel twenty feet tall and indestructible to anything physical or mental, this stuff will do it. Consider this a trial for you. If you don't feel any different after you take it, we'll try something else if you want to."

"Is…is it…dangerous?" Kagami asked again, still trying to keep her focus off the intimidating needle.

Ryuji shook his head. "No. Like I said, consider this a trial."

Because of Kagami's own innocence to such issues, she had no idea Ryuji was trying to feed her one of the most potent and dangerous drugs imaginable. With some of the highest addiction rates to its name, once someone desperate enough got a hold of it, they would _never_ let it go. Ryuji knew this and was still trying to get Kagami to take it for he knew the more addicts he had in his phone's contact list, the more money would be in his pocket. Of course, he also had a manipulative business strategy for the newcomers as well as it always assured they would come crawling back.

Kagami gulped and turned back to him. She nodded. "Okay…I'll do it. How much will this cost."

Ryuji tried to hide his grin by nodding. "Nothing. The first one is always free, Kagami."

Kagami nodded again and allowed Ryuji to take her to a secluded spot behind several trees and bushes where the preparations were made. The drug was mixed with a bit of water in the spoon, followed up by dissolving it by keeping the lighter's flame under the spoon and Kagami watched the whole process keenly and still with an emotionally broken mind. She still barely knew what was about to happen to her, even when Ryuji tied a tourniquet around her arm and wiped a spot over her vein with alcohol.

Ryuji unwrapped the new syringe and took the liquid drug inside its body. Finding the vein on Kagami's arm, he looked up at her one last time with the tip of the needle less than an inch away from her delicate flesh. "Well…shall I?" He asked.

Kagami's face still showed vacancy and hopelessness as she sat and nodded once. Ryuji nodded back and he slid the needle into her arm and into her vein. Kagami didn't wince in pain, even when Ryuji pulled back on the plunger slightly to take in a bit of Kagami's blood before he drove the full plunger down and the liquid disappeared into her body.

The drugs worked fast. Kagami suddenly felt as if she was on a rollercoaster plummeting downward and rocking sharply side to side and she quickly fell back. Ryuji barely had time to take the needle out when Kagami threw herself onto her back and began to breathe loudly. Her body became a furnace and she shook and twitched violently while gargling on her own saliva. Ryuji quickly took her hand and held her down.

"Ride it out, Kagami. This is normal." He whispered and kept looking around for any potential witnesses.

Kagami's mind suddenly became a kaleidoscope of chaos as her flailing began to slow. She suddenly began to see images, shapes, and colors before her own eyes and they filled with tears as she calmed down as the drugs continued to work their dark magic.

Kagami slowly squeezed Ryuji's hand and whispered, "What is that…?"

She began to hear voices. Not just voices, but screams of pure terror and anguish and they weren't her own. She recognized the voices to belong to her family and friends. Sentences began to echo in her mind.

_ Why are you doing this to us?!_

_ Kagami, calm down! What's wrong?! Please stop destroying our home! Stop! Stop!_

_ Look what you did to yourself!_

_ Sis, please! Don't do this! Don't leave me alone! I need you!_

_ Kagami-san, it hurts! Please…let go! You're my friend! Please stop hitting me!_

_ Why would you do that to them?!_

_ Kagami, help me! Don't let them touch me! Help me!_

_ Kagami, drop the axe! Don't hurt Tsukasa!_

_ You're my daughter! I love you but I cannot forgive this!_

_ You've defiled your body with these animals! You've been selling yourself, Kagami!_

_ What are you?!_

_ I want you out of my house!_

_ You're right, it should have been you and not Matsuri!_

Kagami's pupils dilated and her eyes became bloodshot as the madness and the addiction took control of her.


	9. Chapter 9

CHAPTER 8

"And you're telling us that she just got off the train and left you alone?" Tadao asked again with a more frustrated tone.

Tsukasa sat before her mother, father, and biggest sister in the living room of the Hiiragi home and nodded with fright. "She was right behind me and then she was outside. I screamed and pounded on the windows but she wouldn't even look at me. I'm scared. What if something horrible has happened to her?!"

"Take it easy, Tsukasa." Inori quickly replied as she was expecting Tsukasa to assume something bad happened to her. "You said that she thought she saw Matsuri at the food court and she became more distant after that, right?"

Tsukasa nodded while twirling her thumbs anxiously.

"Well maybe she saw how upset that made you and she needed time alone to decompress or even let it all out in a private place." Inori speculated. "I mean you have to admit that if you saw Kagami have a meltdown, you would probably have the same thing and it would only add more stress to it."

Tsukasa glanced away, her eyes still showing traces of fear. "I guess you're right, but still, it was what she said before she left the train that is disturbing me. She asked me if I would love her no matter what she did. I think sis is in trouble."

Miki and Tadao looked at each other and both presented looks of dread. It now seemed to Tadao that Miki's mother's intuition was synchronized with Tsukasa's fraternal twin intuition. The two ladies closest to Kagami were able to just sense that she was in trouble. However, none of their minds even for a second considered the idea of drug abuse. Like everyone else, they believed Kagami was stuck in a dark trench of depression upon the two recent deaths and the only thing that would bring her out of it was professional help and medication. However, none of them were aware that the twin-tailed Hiiragi was already beginning her own version of therapy that also included "medication."

"Well, should we call the police?" Inori asked.

Tadao shook his head. "No, we're not at that level yet. Tsukasa, do us a favor and call your friends and see if they've seen Kagami or if they're with her now. Start with that Izumi girl."

Tsukasa quickly complied and reached into her pocket to grab hold of her cell phone. She slowly walked out of the living room and dialed Konata's number while the three remaining family members continued to converse on the new dilemma facing them. Everything Tsukasa had told them since she came speeding through the front door only a few minutes ago threw red flags up everywhere for them. Everyone knew Kagami always acted as Tsukasa's protective umbrella and would _never_, even on her worst day, leave her alone on one of those crowded trains. Everyone knew that plenty of creeps and perverts rode those trains and Tsukasa could've been groped or harassed without Kagami by her side to watch over her. Thankfully that wasn't the case this time but nevertheless, Tadao was still plenty frustrated with his daughter. However, he was more worried about her than anything.

For her to simply abandon her own fraternal twin sister on a train like that told Tadao and the family that they had a bigger problem than they thought. For Kagami to see another girl and suddenly be convinced that it was Matsuri and for it to shake her up so badly that it would prompt her to just ditch Tsukasa like that painted an ominous portrait. It told them that this post-traumatic issue was sinking deeper into her cognitive sphere of logic and was beginning to take its toll. Some were beginning to fear that it could lead to more hallucinations or hearing voices. If that happened, then there would be no choice for Kagami and she would need counseling.

"I don't like this. I don't like this one bit." Miki said as she slowly rubbed her hands together in a stress-relief effort. "Kagami isn't well and she needs to deal with this somehow. I still standby my idea of at least calling a psychologist and getting their input if nothing else."

Tadao and Inori nodded and the Hiiragi husband replied, "I agree. This could be serious so I'll do some investigating and get the numbers of a few doctors."

Tsukasa suddenly came back into the living room while typing in a new number. "Kona-chan hasn't seen her since the funeral so I'm trying Yuki-chan now."

As Tsukasa punched in Miyuki's number, the Hiiragi family was startled when they heard the doorknob on their front door turn. All of their eyes quickly spun to it just in time to see it open and to their surprise, Kagami stood in the doorframe as if nothing happened while also wearing a new pair of black sunglasses. What made the scene even more shocking was the smile that was sealed on Kagami's face. It was so large and wide that everyone could tell it was forced and it looked unnatural.

"Hey guys!" Kagami exclaimed happily as she stepped into the house and closed the door.

Tsukasa dropped her phone and when it bounced on the floor, she dashed over to her sister and hugged her tightly, prompting Kagami to giggle. It was a strange retort given the circumstances as her parents and older sister also rushed in and analyzed Kagami for any signs of physical harm.

"Kagami, where have you been?!" Tadao exclaimed. "Why did you leave Tsukasa like that?! Do you know that she could've been hurt without you there?! Answer us right now! Where we you?!"

"Relax, dad!" Kagami happily vocalized while keeping her sunglasses on. "I just needed to take a walk and be by myself. Tsukasa was like really sticking in my crawl so I needed to get the fuck out of there!"

"Kagami!" Miki yelled upon hearing the vulgar word and Tsukasa's eyes instantly became teary. "Watch your language in this house and that's a horrible thing to say to your sister now apologize!"

"Oh come on, mommy!" Kagami continued to sprout her euphoria with her eyes still shaded. "I feel great now! Don't you love my shades?! I tell ya, this is _one_ of the best investments I ever made and look at Tsukasa! She's fine and I bet you were worried some pervert would've felt her up but you were wrong! So in conclusion, I was right, you were wrong, I'm smart, you're not, suck it dry…and I gotta take a piss so if you'll excuse me."

It was the complete and utter shock her family felt that clouded their minds and allow her to slip past them. Kagami, still dancing and laughing happily, bounced up the stairs while humming until she slammed the bathroom door shut and locked it. Feeling that all her good deeds and desires for her sister were suddenly destroyed, the meek and frail Tsukasa covered her face and began to cry. The display Kagami showed sent a torpedo into her heart and she now truly believed that her older sister was better off without her.

As Inori moved in and hugged Tsukasa, Miki and Tadao regrouped together. Miki said angrily, "What was that all about?"

"You're asking me? I'm still trying to comprehend if she really said the f-word in our house or if I just imagined it." Tadao retorted as he stared dumbfounded at the stairs. "Or if she just told us to 'suck it dry.'"

Miki squinted. "Unfortunately I think all of that was real. That's it. I'm calling a doctor now."

The Hiiragi housewife sprinted into the kitchen where the phonebook was tucked away in a cupboard near the landline and she took it out and began to page through it. She searched the pages for psychologists that looked credible enough to help with their growing issue with Kagami. Tadao slowly approached the stairs and looked up towards the bathroom, a look of shock still on his face.

The twin-tailed girl stared into the mirror until she slowly removed the sunglasses from her eyes, revealing the horrific truth in her eyes. All the white in her sclera's was gone and replaced with haunting blood-shot veins pulsing and brightening while her pupils were still wide and dilated. The effects of the heroin were still raging through her body and she felt twenty feet high and bulletproof. All of the pain and depression she felt because of Matsuri and Misao was now gone and she couldn't stop smiling. She was high as a kite and loved every second of it. The only thing she could feel was endless happiness.

Staring at her blood-shot eyes, she started laughing at the sight and her knees began wobbling. Before she lost her balance, Kagami sat on the toilet while still sounding her animalistic cackle. What a sensation she felt. As her breathing and sweating continued, she started gritting her teeth and began spitting in attempts to rid herself of an unwanted side effect of the heroin. She couldn't get the taste of heavy metal out of her mouth and it was beginning to hurt. Even her teeth pulsated in pain as the nerves in her crowns became hypersensitive to the wild ride that coursed throughout her veins.

Kagami quickly stood again and rushed over to the drawers. She ripped one of them open and snatched a full tube of toothpaste and she wasted no time tearing the cap off and squeezed the entire minty substance into her mouth. The paste flooded her mouth and dripped down her cheeks as it overflowed. Kagami dropped the depleted toothpaste tube and chewed the thick substance thoroughly still with an inhuman scowl on her face.

Seeing herself in the mirror again with the toothpaste oozing from her lips made her grin maliciously again and add her giggle. With a piercing glare of fury, she uttered, "Rabid bitch…nothing to fuck with…"

A knock suddenly came at the door and Kagami quickly jolted her head to look at it. Tadao's voice said, "Kagami? Are you okay in there?"

Kagami chewed the thick, minty paste a few more times until she swallowed it all and grinned. "I'm fine, dad. Never better."

"…Okay. When you're done in there we would like to talk to you in the living room." He replied and walked away.

Kagami turned her head back to the mirror and saw her blood-shot eyes in the reflective glass. She had to do something about the calling card of her newfound addiction and began fishing through another drawer. She found a bottle of eye drops and administered several drops into her eyes, not to clear the bloody lines, but to add more imagery to her impending act. When her eyes were thick with water again, she hid the drops and put the empty toothpaste tube in the trashcan and exited the bathroom.

She casually walked down the stairs and saw her family waiting for her in the living room, each one wearing a look of concern on their faces. The first thing Kagami did was something that no one in the family expected. She rushed over to Tsukasa, who was still sniffling from her sister's vicious words, and hugged her. Kagami held her close and she began to cry.

"So…so sorry, Tsukasa…" Kagami groveled. "Please…please forgive me. I love you…"

The gesture fooled everyone in the family, especially Tsukasa as she wasted no time in pulling her older twin close and began crying again. "It's okay, Kagami! I just wanted to make you happy!"

"I am happy, Tsukasa! I'm happy everyday that I was blessed with a sister like you!" Kagami wailed again as her parents and big sister watched. "You don't have to go through so much trouble! I just…I just want us all to go back to normal! I love you all so much!"

Miki watched the whole scene start from the beginning and she analyzed every second of it as she held the landline phone in her hand. She saw the redness and puffiness in her daughter's eyes as she cried while holding Tsukasa. It was a complete one-eighty from the display Kagami presented for her and the rest of the family only a few minutes ago and she had to admit that she was both optimistic and alarmed at the same time. All of Kagami's displays and words appeared to be genuine to her but as a mother, she still sensed something was wrong. Still, she didn't suspect that an intruder was still swimming throughout the twin-tailed Hiiragi's system. Because of this, it motivated Miki to sigh and place the phone on the table.

With Kagami's emotions vented and her younger sister feeling much better about everything that had happened since this morning, Kagami took a seat next to Tsukasa and cleared her throat. "So…what is it you need to talk to me about?"

Tadao looked at Miki, who returned his glance and she merely shrugged to present her confusion. Tadao turned back to Kagami and said, "Well dear we wanted to talk to you about setting up an appointment with a therapist but it seems that, well, you're okay now."

Kagami nodded. "I am, dad. When I was out on my walk, it really hit me hard. Matsuri may be gone, but I need to be here and I need to get myself together. Tsukasa needs me and I love her so much!"

The twin-tailed girl quickly grabbed her sister's hand and squeezed gently and Tsukasa griped it back. However, Kagami's grip began to tighten harder and harder and the warming embrace began to disappear only to be replaced with budding pain in Tsukasa's hand. She tried her best not to wince but was still unaware that her sister's senses were going haywire and it was the heroin that was making her hurt her.

"We understand you love Tsukasa, but we still need to talk to you about your attitude when you came home. Why did you say those things and use such offensive words in our presence?" Tadao demanded calmly but sternly.

Just as Tsukasa was about to cry out in pain from Kagami's vice-like grip, she abruptly released her sister's hand and replied, "I don't know, dad. It…it's the stress I guess. I knew what I did to Tsukasa was wrong and horrible and I knew a lecture was waiting for me so I just…I just got angry. Not at you guys…but I was just angry with myself. I'm sorry again. I'm sorry, Tsukasa. You know I love you, right?"

The youngest Hiiragi twin was rubbing her hand and was slightly confused by the harsh constriction but was still soothed by her sister's words and she smiled. "I forgive you, Kagami. I could never stay mad at you. I love you, too."

Tadao was sold on the display and he turned to his wife to hear her input. He was surprised to see Miki squinting at Kagami as she calmly sat, as if she was looking for something the naked eye couldn't spot on her daughter. Though Tadao didn't have a mother's intuition, he did have a husband's intuition and could tell that something was truly disturbing his wife as she continued to sit like a statue and observe Kagami. She was the one who was determined the most to put Kagami in a therapist's office but now she didn't really have any proof except for her earlier display, which she now clearly regretted in front of the family.

"Well…don't let this kind of thing happen again, Kagami. We all know how upset you are about Matsuri and Kusakabe, but that doesn't give you _any_ right to just abandon your sister like that." Miki scolded. "You know how much she looks up to you so consider this a warning. Next time you act this way or any other way I see as troubling, I'm going to make an appointment with a therapist and I'll drag you in there myself if I have to. Is that understood?"

Kagami nodded quickly. "Yes, mom. Sorry again. Very, very sorry."

Miki tightened her stare at Kagami as her last words seemed a little too hastened to be normal. Still, she couldn't call her daughter out on something as trivial as a hastened speech. She still didn't suspect drug abuse when she allowed Kagami to leave the family meeting. The Hiiragi twins spent the rest of the day together and Kagami made her amends to Tsukasa. Towards the end of the day however Tsukasa was beginning to wonder why the redness and puffiness in Kagami's eyes wasn't going away. She was also wondering why her sister's speech was slurred every now and then and she sometimes nearly lost her balance. Kagami would just blame the string of irregular behaviors on Matsuri's death, which Tsukasa ate up because why wouldn't she? Despite abandoning her on the train, Tsukasa still trusted and loved her older twin and was convinced she would never do anything to deceive or hurt her.

Though as smart as Kagami was, she was only living in the here and now as the high the heroin gave her continued to pump throughout her body. However, it was because of this living in the moment mindset that hindered her from being able to see the bigger picture. By eight o'clock later that night, the twin-tailed girl was an absolute mess. The high was wearing off and she was already addicted to the powerful opioid. The withdrawal was already proving to be an impossible opponent for her inexperienced body and the dependency on it was growing. To make matters worse, Kagami's mental torment over Matsuri and Misao was returning as well so now she not only was going through physical withdrawal, but the psychological guilt was once again eating away at her.

She didn't know which one was worse as she sat on her bed and began to tremble in cold sweat. At the moment, her physical withdrawal was proving to be the dominant foe. The spot at her arm where the drugs were first injected was aching and throbbing endlessly, as if the veins were begging Kagami to put another needle inside of them and feed them the sweet drug they craved. Her muscles in her arms began to constrict like a washcloth being rung out over a sink and she gritted her teeth in burning pain to keep herself from screaming. The cold sweat trickled down her head and dripped all around her while her entire body shook like a building in an earthquake. Her nose became runny and she quickly realized that tissues weren't going to plug this disgusting spew so she had to plug her two nostrils with a pillow case. As she tried to stop the waterfalls of mucus from her nose, she felt a sharp pain in her stomach and it was gurgling and popping inside her like a boiling liquid.

A sharp stinging pain tore through Kagami's abdomen and she needed to run to the bathroom now. The trembling girl leaped off her bed and opened her door as gently as she could. She could hear the rest of her family watching the TV in the living room as she tip-toed across the hallway as her innards continued to twist and violently rumble. Kagami suddenly heard a pair of footsteps coming up the stairs, prompting her to damn any consequences and make a dash for the bathroom. She slammed the door shut and locked it and quickly eyed the toilet. She barely had time to lift the seat up until she vomited violently into the open toilet and her nose began its flow of sticky liquid again. Her eyes constricted from the pain inside her and tears fell from her eyes. The only orifices on her head that wasn't leaking or spewing anything were her two ears.

When her spew was complete, Kagami fell to the floor just as someone knocked on the door. Inori on the other side said, "Kagami, are you in there? You're missing your favorite show."

Kagami fought back dry heaves to answer her sister. "I'll be right out."

The sickly twin-tailed Hiiragi hoped that Inori left but her blood began to boil when she heard her voice on the other side of the door say, "Are you okay in there?"

"I'm fine, Inori! Can't I have a few minutes to use the bathroom in peace, damn it?!" Kagami snapped back while gritting her teeth.

"Okay, okay, I'm sorry." Inori whimpered and walked away from the door.

It wasn't a moment too soon as Kagami's withdrawal returned and she began throwing up again in the toilet while her nose continued to drip onto her shirt and her tears stained her clothing's collar. She was an absolute mess and her teeth began chattering from the sudden and intense cold she was feeling. Kagami hugged herself tighter and shivered.

"I need more." She whispered to herself. "I need more right now."

Kagami reached into her pocket and found her cell phone. She dialed Ryuji again. The dial tones were like sledgehammers to her psyche as she muttered profanities and for him to pick up the phone. She grabbed a one of her pigtails and began pulling violently and strongly on it, sending pain into her body to counteract the pain the heroin withdrawal was putting into her. Ryuji finally picked up the phone.

"I need more of that stuff and I need it right fucking now you pansy-assed dick sucker!" Kagami's temper and withdrawal was burrowing deeper into her mind and making her say and act in ways that would only be in nightmares. Her violent twitching and trembling continued as she panted and sweated as Ryuji replied.

"Take it easy, Kagami. I take it you want more of the same stuff?" Ryuji asked calmly.

Kagami instantly calmed down as if her outburst didn't happen and she replied through her still hastened pants. "Yes, yes, yes, yes. I need more heroin. Please forgive me, Ryuji. I didn't mean what I said. I'm not biting the hand that feeds."

"Good, then you won't mind if you put money in this hand because every batch from here on out will cost you." Ryuji replied.

"You motherfucker! You better hook me up with more of that shit or I'll kill you, you freak-ass crackpot!" Kagami hissed violently. "I don't have that kind of money to buy drugs you fucking turd!"

"You don't have two thousand yen sitting around somewhere?" Ryuji remained calm when he asked.

Kagami once again calmed down. She continued to pant and tremble until she replied, "That…that's all?"

"Just two thousand yen. That's all. Take it or leave it."

"When can we meet?"

"You doing anything tonight?"

Kagami took a deep breath. "Same place tonight in two hours."

The twin-tailed girl ended her latest drug deal and did her best to clean up the vile mess she left in and on the toilet and floor. She had to flush the toilet twice to ensure all of the vomit was gone and also had to scrub the inside of the bowl, a few times with her bare hands to get all the evidence that something was wrong out of the house. Kagami also had to take the pillow case and towels she used to mop her mucus and tears and throw them out in the outside garbage cans because of the degree of their stains.

Kagami missed the rest of her favorite show when it ended at nine o'clock, making her family concerned about her so when the program was over, Tsukasa crept up to Kagami's door and slowly opened it. The entire room was dark and Tsukasa glanced towards the bed, where she saw a large lump covered by the sheets and blanket. It seemed that Kagami was asleep, making Tsukasa smile lightly.

"Good night, sis. And sweet dreams." She whispered with her smile and gently closed the door.

Tsukasa had no idea that Kagami had been gone from the house for awhile when she said goodnight. The youngest Hiiragi's words were delivered to the bed by her affectionate voice, only to arrive at a cradle that was stuffed with extra pillows and draped by the sheets to make it appear Kagami was asleep there. Kagami was not only out of the house and neighborhood, she was slowly but surely going out of her mind.

Kagami arrived at the clock tower in the same park just as it struck ten o'clock and darkness was her only companion. Her withdrawal symptoms were only getting worse as she sat on the same park bench and waited for her dealer to arrive. She knew she her problems were only stacking up when she began to hear Matsuri's voice. Her late sister wasn't talking to her directly and she wasn't hallucinating, but the memories of her voice grew louder and louder. Kagami hugged herself tighter and tighter as she continued to sweat profusely despite the cool nighttime air and her eyes darted in their sockets.

"Good evening." Ryuji casually said from behind her.

Kagami screamed. She screamed as if she was attacked and was about to be raped but that wasn't the case. Regardless, she screamed and jumped up from her bench and spun around to see Ryuji standing before her still holding the same satchel bag from earlier. Kagami's leg knocked and quaked together as she rubbed her arms together to create more heat as she looked downward.

In a broken and crackling voice ready to cry, Kagami weakly asked, "Do…do you have it? Please tell me you have it."

Ryuji grinned maliciously as he knew his business strategy had worked. His strategy of not only giving a free sample but making sure it was some of his more powerful and addictive drugs hooked Kagami and she now stood as a budding junkie begging for more drugs. Before he reached into the bag, Ryuji had to complete his transaction.

"First things first. Cash only." He said.

Kagami nodded and reached into her skirt pocket. She pulled out the two thousand yen and handed it over to Ryuji. Kagami uttered, "I was planning on saving my money to buy my father a birthday present next month."

"You want your money back? If so keep in mind that if you don't pay, you don't play." Ryuji held out his hand gripping the money and gave Kagami the offer to take it back.

The twin-tailed girl tried to hide her rising shame and guilt in her eyes by looking away when she shook her head. "No. Give me my drugs."

Ryuji smirked and tucked the money in his pocket and unloaded more heroin. It was the same amount as before and he walked Kagami through how to do it again as she was going to have to learn on her own sooner or later. When she felt the pinch of the needle entering her vein, Kagami felt the adrenaline rush one would feel as if they were in a rollercoaster that was slowly clinking its way to the top of the peak. When Kagami put her thumb on the syringe's plunger, her rollercoaster reached the top of the track and she felt as if she was on top of the world. Pushing the plunger and heroin into her body, her adrenaline and bodily excitement went crazy as the drugs rushing in felt like her rollercoaster was plummeting downward and taking her for a wild ride.

She pulled the syringe out and once again, a creepy and misshapen smile formed on her face as she fell onto the green grass and started fidgeting again. She released a haunting giggle while feeling weightless and happy. The voices of her dead sister once again disappeared from her mind and Kagami was high again. Feeling warm all over, she rolled onto her side and nestled herself deeper into the soft grass as her senses became more sensitive to the ticklish touches.

As happy as Kagami was when she shot heroin, what Ryuji said next brought reality into her drug-induced happy place. He cleared his throat and said, "You know, Kagami, that stuff will still wear off in a few hours like it did again. When you wake up, you're withdrawal will hit you hard again and the more heroin you do, the harder the withdrawal will hit you."

Kagami stopped giggling and sat up as Ryuji took a seat next to her on the grass. Kagami began to panic and whimper, "Then…then I'll just have to get more. You'll keep selling to me, right?"

Ryuji nodded. "But if you're seeking a high that'll last for awhile, I could always upgrade you to some new stuff. It's just as powerful as the stuff you're on right now, if not more."

Kagami threw herself onto his lap and gripped his shirt tightly. Her eyes were turning blood-shot again as she gritted her teeth and began to claw her way higher towards him while breathing deeply. "Give…give it to me…!"

Ryuji pulled Kagami's smaller wrists off his shirt and pushed her back. "Take it easy. This stuff will _really_ cost you this time."

Kagami pulled herself up as she continued to tremble from her high. "How…how much?"

"Twenty thousand yen for a small bag." Ryuji replied with a smile.

The twin-tailed girl's high was the only thing that kept her from murdering Ryuji. She quickly looked around in a panic and retorted, "How in the fuck am I supposed to get that kind of money?!"

She was so busy with her high and panic of the impending withdrawal the next morning that she didn't notice Ryuji was eyeing her up. He observed every part of her physical body from her chest to her flat stomach and perfectly sculpted hips. He smiled sinisterly again as an all too familiar idea returned to him. What he was about to suggest to Kagami was going to be one of her last stops on the road of no return.

"Well…if you don't mind me saying, you've got a pretty sexy little body, Kagami. You've got long hair, a pretty face, cute eyes, and a nice slender figure. Your breasts aren't that big but I think…some people…would actually like that." Ryuji commented.

Kagami's face burned red. "You perverted asshole! Why are you telling me that?!"

"Put it together. If you want to make the _big bucks_, I suggest you start earning it from some lonely men…if you know what I mean." Ryuji finished with a wink.

She put it together. "Are…are you telling me to prostitute myself?!"

"Only if you're interested in making anywhere from twenty thousand to over two hundred thousand yen a night depending on how many guys you can satisfy." He retorted as he collected his things.

Kagami growled at him and turned away while rubbing the arm the heroin was injected into. "Fuck you. I'll_ never_ do that to myself."

Ryuji rolled his eyes. "Well, you could also just steal whatever you deem fit and pawn it off…or become a hooker…or get clean and face the realities of losing your sister and Kusakabe. I feel sorry for you, Kagami Hiiragi. Everyone that gets close to you dies a horrible and painful death. I know I wouldn't be able to live with that kind of guilt. But I'm sure you'll be able to manage all that pain without drugs. It's getting late so I'll see you later."

As the drug dealer turned and began to walk away, Kagami began crying. His words destroyed the euphoria she was feeling and the full realities of Matsuri and Misao were once again in her mind. In her mind, she needed the drugs now more than ever and she quickly stood and ran to Ryuji.

"Wait, don't go!" Kagami pleaded and threw herself at his feet, stopping him from walking. "I'll do it, okay?! I'll do it."

Ryuji looked down at her. "You mean you'll drop this purity girl thing of yours and get down and dirty?"

Kagami shook her head as she looked up with teary eyes. "No, I'll never sell my virginity for drugs. My mother is…my mother is rich. She has a lot of valuable things in our home. I can sell them. Where do I go?"

Ryuji smiled and once again pulled out a small notebook and began writing down some more information. He tore the paper off and handed it to Kagami and informed, "This is a pawn shop that my friend owns and operates. He's an expert at hocking stolen goods so anything of value you swipe, take it there and ask for him. Tell him I sent you."

Kagami looked at the address and nodded back at him. "Okay…be back here tomorrow with that better stuff. What's it called?"

"Crack cocaine."

**A/N: As you can see it's starting to get worse and addiction is a horrible thing. I wouldn't wish it on anyone and I hope people are able to see the message in the story so far. As always, thanks for reading!**


	10. Chapter 10

CHAPTER 9

Despite the fact that Kagami ignored all of her parents' warnings and lessons about staying away from drugs and alcohol, she had to admit that heroin was starting to do incredible things for her. It not only took away the mental pain of losing Matsuri and Misao, but it also gave her one of the deepest and soundest sleeps she had ever had in her life. She couldn't remember the last time she slept so well but that was an opioid for you. The two times Kagami injected it into her body, everything suddenly felt better.

It was like warm golden sunshine flowing through her veins. It made everything okay and it made everything beautiful and everything was within her reach, even a clean conscience. Then she would come down and suddenly she needed more and was willing to go to extremes to get it. Slowly but surely, it was becoming her best friend but she still had the opportunity to quit but Kagami would never dream of it. At some point that is indefinable and inevitable, it would turn on her. It would grow fangs and claws, and it would have her soul in its crosshairs. It would lie to her and tell her that she wasn't doing anything wrong, thus justifying the acts that would soon follow to keep her friend close. It would soon make her feel that she would rather die than spend another second without it.

As this impending shipwreck that would become Kagami's life approached, there was one person that it would hurt more than her friends or other family members. It would kill Tsukasa the most. The youngest Hiiragi daughter was always attached to her mother as a toddler, but as she grew, the concept of her hero and protector evolved into Kagami. The twins became inseparable when they started middle school and it stayed that way all throughout high school. Within all those years, the girls became best friends and shared so many bonding moments and memories. Tsukasa wasn't aware that soon she would have to ask herself a question no one should have to ask themselves. What was more devastating? The fact that her hero in Kagami was soon going to be turned into a monster and victim of such a vice, or the fact that despite everything they had been through together, an illegal substance found in a syringe was able to give Kagami everything she ever needed while Tsukasa couldn't and it would also be able to simply take all those years of bonding and happy memories and replace them with drugs? Tsukasa had no idea that her very existence in every regard in Kagami's life was in danger of being replaced by drugs. Up until then, everything the twins shared was like a dream.

Regrettably for Kagami, her dream was about to end once again. She was jolted awake early in the morning by a shockwave of physical pain that made it hard for her to breathe and she began coughing. The withdrawal was back and it wasted no time in creating a new and even stronger craving for more of the drug to be injected. She began sweating again and her muscles started twitching and throbbing, making her want to scream in pain so she buried her face in her pillow and vocalized her intense discomfort. For Kagami, she couldn't afford to wait any longer and she had to make her move now. Desperation was calling her.

The twin-tailed Hiiragi pulled herself out of her bed and reached under her mattress. She pulled out her old schoolbag she used every day during high school and began to tip-toe downstairs, careful not to wake any of her other family members. She soon made it into the living room and eyed a glass display cabinet in the corner and her mouth watered as she saw the treasures inside that were about to become her key to her next fix.

Kagami stood before a cabinet with glass panels that was filled with so many artifacts that belonged to Miki's side of the family. Priceless items that included pewter plates, solid silver candleholders, a glass peacock with sapphires and rubies embedded in the tail feathers, a ceramic plate that belonged to Emperor Hirohito during the war, and a small solid gold statue of Buddha. All of them were family heirlooms that meant more to Miki than her own life and some she was planning on giving to her daughters as wedding presents when they would get married.

All of this was completely kicked to the curb when Kagami unlocked the giant cabinet and her trembling hands grabbed the pair of silver candleholders. She quickly stashed them into her bag and reached for the pewter plates. They too disappeared into the bag and it didn't take long until Kagami cleaned out the entire cabinet and she couldn't help but feel lonely and isolated as the precious objects were in the fast lane to no return.

Kagami knew it wouldn't be long until the rest of her family would be up and inevitably notice that all the family heirlooms were gone. She had to make her move now if she wanted to get her fix back and she grabbed her schoolbag and proceeded towards the front door. As she exited the living room and made her way through the kitchen that would take her to the front door, the oldest Hiiragi twin suddenly spotted something that caught her attention.

Her mother's purse was casually sitting on the kitchen counter in the open. Seeing the article sit there prompted Kagami to start asking questions about the bounty she had in her schoolbag. They all had a lot of family and sentimental value, but she didn't know how much the street value was for such items. The newfound friend surging through Kagami's veins made her think of taking these new habits and decisions to a new and darker threshold. This new friend injected into Kagami's arms was telling her that she needed real cash just in case.

The shaking twin-tailed girl gently placed her schoolbag on the floor and tip-toed towards the purse sitting on the counter. As if her body was on autopilot, she slowly reached out and pulled the purse closer towards her and she opened it at the top. Kagami suddenly felt paranoid as the withdrawal continued to chip away at her and she looked in every direction several times to make sure she was still alone. It took some time but the paranoia eventually settled and Kagami dug into her mother's purse and she found her wallet. She snapped it open and her mouth watered again when she saw the many yen bills tucked inside.

Kagami's heart and adrenaline were both pumping wildly, making her shake and sweat even more as her moist fingers gripped the bills and pulled them out. It wasn't a large score but it did promise her a few more hits of heroin if nothing else. Casually, Kagami tucked the wallet back into the purse and pushed it away as she stuffed the money into her pocket. Her conscience was a numbed entity and Kagami's fear of the continuous withdrawal and thoughts of hearing or seeing Matsuri again prompted her to pick up her schoolbag and once again head for the front door. The twin-tailed girl grinned sinisterly as she unlocked the door and slowly began to turn the handle. Kagami's paranoia continued to fuel her budding hostile mind and she believed that the angry voice of either her mother or father would stop her from leaving.

A voice did stop her however, though it wasn't angry nor did it belong to her parents. It belonged to a drowsy Tsukasa as she slowly came down the stairs and yawned, "Sis…is that you? What are you doing up so early?"

With her hand wrapping tighter and tighter around the doorknob, Kagami fought back her chattering teeth as sweat began to trickle down her forehead and the withdrawal constricted tighter around her body. She tried to keep from showing how deep and sporadic her breathing was becoming as Tsukasa reached the bottom of the stairs while still rubbing her sleepy eyes. Tsukasa approached Kagami, who still kept her back turned to her and was frozen like a statue.

"Sis, what are you doing with your schoolbag?" Tsukasa asked with curiosity. "Are you going somewhere?"

Kagami's face began to melt into a ferocious glare as she stared at the door only inches from her face and her quivering lips reared her gritting teeth. Many, many angry and hostile thoughts began to cloud her mind, some of them were violent and worst of all, they involved Tsukasa and Kagami began to wonder how far she would be willing to go to hide her drug addiction. What would she do if her little sister found out about not only her addiction, but the extreme lengths including theft she was willing to go to keep it going? Would she try and keep Tsukasa quiet? If so, how? She could only think of inflicting bodily harm on Tsukasa.

With her mind asking a thousand questions and trying to give equal answers in seconds, Kagami suddenly turned around and showed a cheery and happy face, instantly gaining Tsukasa's smile. "Oh this? I'm just taking a few things over to Konata. I promised her that I would loan her a few games so I'm using my old schoolbag to carry them."

Tsukasa deepened her smile. "Really? You're going to visit Kona-chan?! Then please wait for me! I'll go get changed and we can visit her together!"

Tsukasa's happy outburst nearly made Kagami yell at her to stay quiet for fear of waking the other family members. The twin-tailed girl was able to bite her lip and hold it in and once again added a new attribute to her rotting personality. Kagami smiled back, giggled to fake an interest in Tsukasa's happiness and replied, "Okay, okay. Hurry and get washed up and dressed and I'll wait for you."

Without another word, Tsukasa nodded happily, turned, and dashed back up the stairs to the bathroom. When Kagami heard the water running, she turned back to the door and abruptly left the house. Despite the fact that Tsukasa trusted every single word that came out of Kagami's mouth, the oldest twin continued to scurry down the road with a tight grip on her bag containing the stolen goods. Her adrenaline continued to pump as did her withdrawal and the heroin's most toxic effects began to diminish.

It was when the last of her high disappeared that Kagami began to slow down in the morning atmosphere and the full reality of what she just did came to fruition. More and more guilt began to peel sections of her away like a banana. She not only stole her mother's precious family heirlooms that meant the world to her, but she also stole money out of her purse. The woman that gave Kagami the gift of life and she stole from her. Kagami clenched her heart in agonizing guilt as her breathing deepened and she didn't know what to do. She thought about returning all the stolen goods and money but what if she ran into Tsukasa again or someone else in the house? Kagami was caught between a rock and a hard place.

As she continued to debate what to do, another new voice announced itself to Kagami and it was powerful enough to make her freeze again and tremble in intense fear when it asked, "Why are you doing this, Hiiragi?"

Trembling immensely, she slowly turned her head and her pupils shrank as the blood-shot veins in her eyes returned while her sweat increased. Her heart pounded harshly and she felt her body go numb when she saw Misao Kusakabe standing before her wearing the same outfit the night she died. Her features remained unchanged as she held her crossed arms over her chest with a disappointed stare to complement it. Kagami couldn't take it anymore and she quickly spun around while holding her bag close.

"You're not there! You're dead, Kusakabe! I held you in my arms and you died in my lap!" Kagami yelled.

Misao slowly shook her head. "You haven't answered my question. Why are you doing these things, Hiiragi?"

Kagami tightened her glare and shook her head. "You know why! This pain I feel! This endless guilt and infinite night that is my whole life now! I can't take it anymore! I need those drugs!"

"What would your sister say if she saw you like this?" Misao asked.

"Fuck you! How dare you ask me that?! Matsuri's gone just like you are! My sister is dead because of me!" Kagami yelled again, her stomach tightening.

"Kagami…you don't seem to understand… I am _always_ with you…and watching you."

That voice. It wasn't Misao's as the brown-haired girl still stood before Kagami. Another chill ran down Kagami's spine as she slowly turned and she could no longer contain her panic. A person stood there that frightened her so bad, she lost control of her bladder though she didn't know it as the hot liquid trickled down her legs through her pants.

Matsuri Hiiragi was standing only a few feet from Kagami, also with a look and gesture that mirrored Misao.

"…Ma…Mat…Matsuri…" Kagami stuttered. "You…you're dead. I saw it. I saw them put your casket in the ground."

"You see a lot of things, Kagami. But I do too. I saw what you did in our home." Matsuri retorted calmly though disappointedly and continued. "How could you do that to mom? After all she's done for you and us. You just stole her most prized possessions and what were you planning on doing with them?"

Kagami quickly hugged the bag to her chest and took a step back. "That…that's none of your business, Matsuri! And why am I talking to you?! You're dead! You and Kusakabe are only images brought on by this fucking withdrawal!"

"Am I? Then how do you explain this?" Matsuri growled and stepped forward quickly. She outstretched her arms and to Kagami's surprise and horror, Matsuri was able to latch onto her and pull her into a hug.

Kagami could feel her. Everything she was hugging was real and solid. She felt the warmth coming off her sister's flesh, the soft fabrics of the clothes she wore, the heat of her breath blowing past her ear, and the scariest part of all, she could feel Matsuri's heartbeat against her chest. The twin-tailed girl was frozen in terror at first until reality struck her again. Kagami screamed loudly and wiggled free of her sister's grip and bounced back several steps while breathing hard.

Misao walked past Kagami, taking her by surprise and deepening her terror and the two supposedly deceased girls stood side-by-side, still holding their disappointed looks at Kagami. Kagami cleared her throat while still holding her schoolbag tight and uttered, "What…what do you want…from me…?"

Matsuri kept taking the lead. "I just wanted to say that I miss you every day and I love you, Kagami. I want to see you again…but at the rate you're going to go…it'll be too soon and I want us to meet on better circumstances. Think about it, Kagami."

Kagami blinked once and when her eyelids uncovered her eyeballs in less than a millisecond, Matsuri and Misao were gone. She was left alone standing on the empty street still clutching the bag full of hot items and she looked around franticly for the two girls but her eyes only spotted an older woman out walking her small dog at the other side of the street. She expressed a look of both confusion and concern as her small dog sat next to her on its leash.

"Excuse me, dear, but are you all right? You seemed to have been talking to yourself and rather upset to boot." The old woman kindly said.

Kagami saw this as the withdrawal symptoms becoming worse as her paranoia once again skyrocketed, as did her irritability and hostility. She hugged the bag tighter and yelled, "Fuck off, you old hag! There's nothing in here for you!"

Shocked by the venomous words from the fidgeting Kagami, the old woman didn't have time to retort as Kagami turned and started running as fast as she could down the street.

(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(- )-(-)

Following the instructions Ryuji had written down for her, Kagami eventually wandered into a part of town she had never been to before and for good reason. It was a part of town where the police visited on a regular basis and every night it seemed to produce a new dead body to be cleaned up. Car alarms, sirens, screams, and the echoes of dysfunction sounded across this area as Kagami continued to make her way down a dirty sidewalk and neared the pawn shop where she planned to take the stolen goods.

She passed several alleyways in-between buildings that made her paranoid, especially when she heard disturbing sounds coming from the darkness of the alley. The twin-tailed girl couldn't tell if they were human or animal, which scared her even more. Another fear she was beginning to feel was the idea of a pair of dirty arms reaching out from the darkness, grabbing her, and pulling her in to do unspeakable things to her. Regardless, she still kept a tight grip on her schoolbag and hugged it to her chest like a shield and kept walking at a fast pace. Every building either had broken windows or graffiti was spray painted all over it, or a combination of both.

Kagami soon arrived at the pawn shop that matched the address written on her paper and it didn't look any better than the rest of the buildings. It was a single-story brick building with iron bars screwed over the outside windows and the curtains were drawn. Kagami walked past one of the curtain-drawn windows, not noticing the bullet hole in the glass. The green glowing neon sign above the building also told her she was at the right place and she approached the closed green door which was covered with rust and also had two bullet markings on it.

There was no doorknob of any kind on the door and the only thing that kept it from being an additional wall was a peephole towards the top of it. A sign was posted next to a button that instructed Kagami to push it if she wanted to be allowed in, which she reluctantly did and it was followed by a loud buzzing sound that made her jump and she heard the thick door unlock from the other side. Putting it together, Kagami slid the door aside and entered the dark store. She still didn't see the building that sat across the street from the pawn shop that would also soon become a part of her future.

Kagami was blasted by the smell of cigarette smoke and alcohol, two combinations that made her want to vomit as she walked further into the store. It was such a small store, yet she had never seen so many things packed into such a cramped area. Countless guitars were hanging from the ceiling, as well as other instruments including drum sets, saxophones, and trumpets. Kagami bypassed the rest of the random items and approached the glass cases where she thought the front of the store was also but she was alone in the store.

When she stopped at the front case and looked in to see hundreds of watches, jewelry, and silverware, the shaking girl looked around and whispered, "He…hello…?"

A large and fat man suddenly appeared from behind a doorway leading to a back room and he stood before Kagami behind the glass cases. He had a repugnant odor coming from him as he observed the young girl through his thick glasses covering his eyes. The man had several moles around his face and two front teeth were missing while the others were hideously discolored.

"What do you want, girl?" He snapped.

Kagami winced at the sudden and harsh introduction and she stuttered a few times, making the pawn shop owner impatient.

"Come on dig the maxi pad out of your mouth goddamn it. What do you want?" He snapped with more viciousness.

"Um…Ryuji told me to come here." Kagami forced out.

Hearing the name calmed the angry owner. "Oh…so you must be Hiiragi."

Kagami was confused by the sudden formalities considering how this conversation started. "I…I didn't know that he had mentioned me."

The store owner nodded. "He did. He mentioned that you might stop by with some hot items."

Kagami couldn't help but glance around to make sure they were still alone when he mentioned the items in her bag. She slowly nodded and began to pull them out of her bag and placed them all on the glass counter in front of her and the pawn shop owner began examining each item thoroughly. He was very impressed with the precious artifacts brought to him. He didn't know Kagami or even Miki personally but concluded that the latter must've come from a lavish background if she was once the owner of them.

When he presented an offer to Kagami for all of the items, the twin-tailed girl nearly collapsed. She was going to make a big score. Bigger than she could've imagined as she had no idea that items of such monetary value were always sitting in her home. When he dropped the cash onto the glass top, Kagami feared the tremendous weight of the money would crash through. She gulped and she sweated with her eyes still locked on the large stack of money. With the withdrawal still tearing away at Kagami, she still had a clear enough mindset to know that if she took the cash in front of her, there would be no going back.

The heroin in her system continued to talk to her and groom her into a newer and twisted way of thinking and rationalizing. The drugs were speaking to her through her veins and they were telling her to take the money. Her mother cleaned the house all the time but she never bothered to even look at those items. What were the odds that she would even miss them? Miki talked more about mundane things regarding her family and stopped mentioning those precious artifacts years ago. She probably forgot they were there. It would probably be weeks before she would realize they were gone and once she finally did, she more than likely wouldn't care. However, what was certain was that Kagami was still suffering and the withdrawal was still chewing her up and she felt that at any second, she would either vomit again or worse, see her dead sister again.

It was this whole string of thought that prompted Kagami to raise her clammy, trembling hand and wrap it around the thick stack of money. She quickly took the large wad and before the pawn shop owner could tell her to do more business with him, she was out the front door again and struggling to force all the money into her pocket. The iron door slammed shut behind her, making her jump and her breathing continued deeply.

Her eyes suddenly spotted activity across the street at another brick building with the windows blocked out and a pink glowing neon sign sitting on the top of it. The glowing sign blinked "TEASERS" over and over again but Kagami had barely noticed the sign let alone know what kind of building she was staring at.

The large front door swung open and a girl only a few years older than Kagami came storming out with her purse and a coat covering her and in Kagami's opinion, wearing too much makeup. She seemed very upset about something as she continued to tear down the sidewalk and another man suddenly came out of the dark building's interior and followed her.

"I'm tired of you not listening to me, girl!" He shouted at her as he walked behind her.

"And I'm tired of these fucking customers!" She screamed back. "It wasn't in my job description to do _any_ of the things those assholes wanted me to do and yet you won't stop them!"

"Hey business is business and I need to do what I need to do to rake in the money! You of all people should know and understand that!" He added.

The angry girl suddenly stopped and turned. She faced her employer with an angry glare and spat, "Well then understand this! I quit! Find yourself some other girl that'll do those things! As if taking our clothes off wasn't enough for those pervs! Fuck you!"

She abruptly turned and kept walking down the street as the man cussed at her and called her several more obscene names before turning around and walking back into the building. He slammed the door shut and Kagami had seen enough. She called Ryuji once again, expecting to be hooked up with her new friend, ignoring all the missed calls and text messages from Tsukasa and Konata.

Meeting her dealer for a third time, Kagami once again had no idea what she was in for when Ryuji introduced her to crack cocaine. She had to be taught how to use the glass instruments known as crack pipes to smoke the rocks that sat in the glass sphere and filled her lungs with the toxic smoke. Kagami thought heroin was the best thing that ever happened to her. That was until crack entered her system.

She not only stopped hearing her sister's voices and seeing her face, she forgot about her completely, as well as the returning guilt of stealing from her mother. She just sat with Ryuji in an isolated area and continued to throw the money at him to keep getting her high. The effects of the potent drug became so intense that Kagami even began to forget all of the precious memories she shared with Tsukasa over the years. All the times, laughs, thrills, chills, and scares they shared were beginning to fade away in the clouds of smoke Kagami would exhale from her body. To make matters worse, the paranoia, which was a classic symptom of crack cocaine abuse, began to take control of Kagami's mind regarding her little sister. The chance encounter they had earlier in the morning as Kagami stole the heirlooms made the twin-tailed girl believe that her sister was conspiring against her. She started to view Tsukasa as a backstabbing mastermind whose only purpose in life was to keep her away from drugs. The only problem to that concept was the fact that Tsukasa was still oblivious to Kagami's budding downward spiral.

As the hours continued to wear on, Kagami forgot how to tell time, courteous of the drugs. It was still early in the morning when Kagami sold her mother's prized possessions and met Ryuji. By dinner time, Kagami had blown through all the cash and was higher than she ever was before. As she stumbled home, the effects of the crack began to wear off. She didn't know that Ryuji deceived her as a result of his business and personality. Crack gave her a stronger high, but the high would wear off faster than heroin did as a result of the body trying to fight the poisonous substance. Her senses were still numbed so she didn't know that her mind was becoming a powder keg of potential hostile and violent outbursts against anyone who got on her bad side.

What Kagami didn't expect to see when she rounded the street corner and eyed her house were two police cars pulling away from her family's home. She was too high and numb to comprehend it, but her heroin addiction's earlier words were wrong. The first thing Miki realized when she stepped into her living room was the fact that her precious family heirlooms were gone. She was crying and throwing a fit all day because she thought that not only had the sovereignty of her family home been violated by burglars and her daughters may have been in danger, but those antiquities meant the world to her and she planned on passing them down to her daughters on their weddings. To think that they may be in the hands of sleazy thieves instead of in her home was breaking Miki's tender heart. Needless to say it resulted in an all-day interview with the police and for it to end with no promises of recovering the artifacts but a reassurance that they would do all they could.

As Kagami neared her house, she saw her crying mother in the warm embrace of her father with her sisters as they saw the police off. It was then that Kagami realized she may have a problem on her hands. She forgot her sunglasses and the truth of her drug addiction was burning in her red eyes and dilated pupils. Regardless, Kagami kept stumbling forward until her family spotted her.

Miki wasted no time in rushing over to Kagami and she hugged her tight. "Oh Kagami! We were robbed! Our family heirlooms! They're all gone!"

As Miki continued to vent her mental anguish, Kagami remained unresponsive until she vocalized her only words of comfort to her mother. "Let me go damn you."

Miki's watery eyes shot open and she quickly pushed Kagami back while holding onto her shoulders. "What did you just say to me?!"

Kagami did her best to keep her eyes averted. "I said let me go. Dig the shit out of your ears, mom."

Miki was ready to slap her daughter but something suddenly stopped her. For the first time, she was able to look into Kagami's eyes and she saw a sight that deeply disturbed her. Her daughter's eyes were riddled with blood-shot veins, dilated pupils, her speech was slurred and a bit of drool was leaking out the side of Kagami's mouth. She was also unresponsive to both Miki's anguish and anger.

Kagami wedged free of her mother and kept walking forward. She brushed past her father and her oldest sister without a care and approached Tsukasa.

"Sis, what happened? I thought you were going to wait for me. I called Kona-chan and she's worried about you. Where were you?" Tsukasa asked with haste.

Kagami ignored her and to everyone's shock, Kagami placed her hand on Tsukasa's shoulder and harshly pushed her aside, nearly knocking her off her feet. Tsukasa was frightened by the gesture as everyone gasped and rushed to make sure she was okay as Kagami made her way to the front door. It added to their fright when the twin-tailed girl collided with the closed door and stood in front of it for several seconds until her brain remembered how to open it. She turned the knob and opened it, entered, and slammed it shut without saying another word.

As Miki held Tsukasa, she squinted at the door where Kagami disappeared behind. Her mother's intuition began to put this destructive puzzle together.

_Those eyes…it couldn't be…could it?_


	11. Chapter 11

CHAPTER 10

The idea was so horrid that no one wanted to even give it the time of day. Miki Hiiragi on the other hand was different. As a mother, she was capable of untold amounts of love and affection, but she was also capable of great discipline and, if the situation called for it, extreme anger if it meant her daughter was either in trouble either by accident or design. She was the first one to state that she believed that Kagami had a drug problem.

While Kagami had quarantined herself in her room as the crack and heroin in her system began to wear off once again, the rest of the family was busy preparing dinner. It was a very awkward situation and they thought that it couldn't get any worse. Inori and Tsukasa helped set the table while they had no choice but to listen to their parents bicker back and forth about Kagami's apparent problem. Miki and Tadao tried to keep it subtle and on the down-low but their two daughters weren't stupid. They saw how Kagami acted outside and knew something was terribly wrong so why wouldn't they be talking and even arguing about it? The two parents stood above the stovetop while Miki continued to stir soup in a pot while Tadao stuck close so they could whisper.

"I will admit that I was alarmed when I saw that display too but I still have a hard time accepting the idea that Kagami is taking drugs." Tadao whispered, trying to protect Tsukasa's innocent ears from the dark conversation. "This is the same Kagami that refused to take aspirin when she had headaches for fear of it hindering her ability to concentrate on homework."

Miki nodded while staring at the spinning soup as she worked her wooden spoon. "I know, but you need to see her eyes. She's on something and I have a sinking feeling that if I check the veins in her arms I'll have both my proof and answer of what she's on."

Tadao gulped. "I really don't like the sound of that, dear. If that's true then I don't think that just a therapist will be able to help her. We might have to really dive into this issue because drug abuse is a mental illness and not just a physical choice. It has to be Matsuri and Kusakabe that's making Kagami take such things. _If_ she's taking such things."

His wife nodded again. "God I hope I'm being paranoid about this."

"We're done setting the table." Inori suddenly informed.

"Okay. Tsukasa, would you come with me, please?" Miki asked and allowed her husband to begin dispensing the food.

Miki led her youngest daughter upstairs towards Kagami's room. She knew how close Tsukasa was to her at one point in her life but she was replaced with Kagami when the twins started high school. That was perfectly fine with Miki as she knew that Kagami would be a better influence for Tsukasa in the real world than her, the mother. Her duties were to raise her and show her love and Kagami took it from there by always sticking by her side in the outside world. Miki wanted Tsukasa by her side to try and open Kagami up. If Tsukasa wouldn't be able to crack through her sister's newfound hostility, it would prove to Miki without using a drug test that Kagami was mutilating her body.

Miki knocked on Kagami's door. "Kagami? It's dinner time."

A series of grunts and groans was Kagami's only retort, prompting Miki to open the door and walk in as Tsukasa stayed close behind her mother. They found Kagami once again curled into a ball on her bed as she wore a hooded sweatshirt with the hood firmly secured over her head.

"Kagami we need to talk." Miki said firmly as Tsukasa's emotions began to tremble. "I'm going to ask you this one time and I want the truth. Have you been taking drugs?"

Hearing this question made Tsukasa spin her head to her mother with a look of terror as she formed fists and held them to her mouth, as if she was ready to start biting her nails and fingers. She quickly glanced back at her sister with her back facing them and this time, Tsukasa took command and scurried around to the other side of the bed. Dropping to her knees and looking at her sister's face and closed eyes framed by the hood, Tsukasa's quaky voice tried to pry into Kagami's secluded life.

"Sis, please tell me that's not true! Please tell me that you haven't been doing such nasty things!" Tsukasa pleaded with thickening moisture in her eyes. "Remember when you woke up that one morning after your drinking and I was crying and you hugged me? You…you told me that this would never happen again. You promised me that. Please…I beg you…please don't tell me you broke your promise to me!"

To try and quell her rising panic, Tsukasa dug her hand under Kagami's body and fished around until she latched onto her sister's clammy hand. She dragged it into the open and held it tight in hers. When she saw Kagami open her eyes slowly but remain unresponsive, Tsukasa felt her hope was beginning to fade. Showing her desperation, she took Kagami's hand and nestled it against her cheek, hoping her affection would seep through and warm her ailing sister.

With one violent and sudden action, Kagami ripped her hand away from Tsukasa's face and turned her body to the other side to face her mother. Kagami's idea of reassurance to Tsukasa was, "Get the hell out of here! I'm tired and I have a headache so leave me alone!"

For Miki, this was all the confirmation she needed to tell her that one of her own was on drugs. As upsetting as it was for her, it was watching her youngest release her tears and start wailing in agony. What made it even worse was when Tsukasa climbed onto Kagami's bed and scooted closer to her. She hugged Kagami as hard as she could and continued to cry.

"Sis…! Please…! Please…! Tell me it isn't true! You just have to!" She cried and continued to try hugging a response out of her cold sister. "You promised me! You promised me this would never happen again! You promised!"

The commotion attracted Inori and Tadao to the dramatic scene and they stared at the twins, one spilling her heart out while the other remained as cold and emotionless as a tree stump. Tsukasa continued to cry on Kagami's shoulder, who still kept her distance emotionally, thus only furthering the youngest twin's pain.

Miki stepped forward. "Kagami…I want you to get up now and we're going to have dinner as a family. After that, we're going to make a few phone calls and get you some help. Saying I'm disappointed in you doesn't even begin to express how angry I am right now."

Kagami cringed on the inside. All the reasons why she was taking drugs in the first place began to replay in her mind. The academic pressure she was putting on herself, the fears of screwing up to the point that it would become public knowledge and ruin her, her parents' disappointment, Matsuri's death, and Misao's demise. The drugs in her system were telling her that she was surrounded by enemies, not loving family members that only wanted the best for her. Kagami's anger began to boil inside as she heard her mother command her once again to get off her bed and join them for one last peaceful dinner, or as close to peaceful as they could make it.

Kagami finally pulled herself up and walked downstairs, brushing past all her family members and drawing more tears from Tsukasa. Miki quickly rushed in and collected her youngest and held her close. She stroked her crying head gently as Tsukasa buried her face in the refuge of her mother's bosom.

"We're going to help her, Tsukasa. We'll do whatever it takes. We won't lose her." Miki whispered and was able to make Tsukasa calm down a bit.

All Tsukasa could do was wipe away more of her tears and nod weakly. She sniffed a few times until she nearly tore Miki's heart out when she asked through her sobs, "Did…did I do this? Did I make sis hurt? All I wanted to do was…help her. Now…now she's doing these…dirty things!"

Miki hugged Tsukasa again. "No, Tsukasa. You didn't do anything wrong. Kagami is very lucky to have a sister like you. Anyone would be lucky to have a sister like you."

Tsukasa pulled away from her mother again. "But…she said that yesterday. She said that she loves me and that she's lucky to have a sister like me but she…did that."

Miki nodded. "Like I said; your sister isn't well and needs help…and that's exactly what we're going to do. Get her help."

For the first time since this morning, Tsukasa was able to smile. It warmed Miki's aching heart to see her youngest present her trademark smile that always charmed and brought life to everyone who was fortunate enough to see it. Hope was still alive for them and Tsukasa followed her mother downstairs to the dinner table.

Kagami was sitting at her usual spot, still with the hood of her sweatshirt wrapped around her head. Her eyes and face were both completely lifeless as Tsukasa also took her usual spot to Kagami's left and Tadao sat at the head of the table to Kagami's right. As Inori returned with some of the food in large bowls and plates, Kagami slowly lifted her head and looked in front of her. It only sent more pain into her heart when she saw the vacant spot in front of her where Matsuri used to sit. It prompted her to lower her head again.

When all the food was passed around and their plates were full, everyone began to dig in. Though Miki's desire for a peaceful dinner was granted, she also had to take it with a bitter side dish of awkward silence. The only sound that kept life in the house was the clattering of dishes being passed around or eating utensils scraping against the plates. Even chewing sounds were welcomed as one of the only sources of entertainment.

Kagami remained lifeless and even slumped a little in her chair and only stared at her food with a depressed expression on her face. Tsukasa couldn't take her saddened eyes off her sister while throwing looks of concern and fright regarding her unresponsive persona. She had no idea that Kagami suddenly shifted her eyes towards a knife resting on the table and the withdrawal was once again making her think violent and hostile thoughts. The drugs were telling her that the people surrounding her were not loved ones, but strangers whose only focus in life was to keep her away from her newfound friends. The bladed utensil looked more and more appealing with each passing second.

"Please eat something, Kagami." Tadao said calmly as he watched his daughter.

Kagami remained motionless in her chair. "I'm not hungry."

"But you love tonight's entrée." Inori interjected. "We worked hard to make sure its extra special for you."

"I don't care." Kagami stated coldly, still motionless in her chair.

The twin-tailed girl began to sway back and forth in her chair. She looked tired and ready to pass out in her food, which only furthered Tsukasa's fright as she turned her head to Miki searching for guidance on this sight. Miki sighed as she could now see that a peaceful dinner wish was going to be in vain and she added to the situation.

"Okay, Kagami. If you don't want to eat we won't force you. However, I'm not going to give you another moment of peace until you start talking to us. You have been taking drugs, haven't you?" She started and dropped her fork on her plate and pushed it away. "I want you to take off that sweatshirt so I can see your arms because I think I know what you've been taking and I have to tell you that that's disgusting."

All eyes shifted to Kagami as she continued to simply sit. "You have no right to search me. The fact that you—"

"Yes, actually I do have a right to search you." Miki bluntly interrupted. "As long as you live in my house and you eat my food, I have every right to know what you're doing. If you're taking drugs in my house then we're going to have a real big problem here, Kagami."

Kagami's body began to tremble but her eyes remained cold and lifeless. She quivered like she was cold but it was hard for them to believe that was the case because of the warm weather and the sweatshirt she wore. Her breathing deepened and her teeth chattered as a result of the continuous withdrawal and beads of cold sweat formed across her face. She began to hear her mother's voice echo in her mind while her own warped logic told her she was in danger. Her mother was trying to keep her away from her friends.

"Kagami, are you listening?" Miki asked with frustration.

Kagami didn't respond.

Tsukasa's lips puckered and she made the fateful move. She slowly moved her hand towards Kagami's with the intent of holding it to show her love and support no matter what Kagami was doing. The family watched it from start to finish. Tsukasa's small and petite hand started to cradle Kagami's. The warm and loving touch detonated the powder keg.

No sooner did Tsukasa's touch her sister's hand, it sent Kagami over the deep end. Suddenly, the twin-tailed girl shot up from her seat and screamed her lungs dry, making Tsukasa scream in sheer terror as the piercing screech echoed in the house. Before anyone could stand, Kagami latched onto the table and pushed it forward with all her might, tipping Inori over and she fell to the floor with a violent thud with some of the food until Tadao quickly rose from his chair. Before he could make an effort to subdue his daughter, she read his thoughts and rammed her head forward, making sharp contact with his stomach and knocking the wind out of him.

As Miki pulled Tsukasa out of harm's way, everyone shrieked when Kagami snatched the knife sitting on the table and held it in front of her. Her eyes were alive once again though not in the way her family hoped for. They burned angry like two red hot coals as she gritted her teeth and continued to scream at them. She wasn't forcing out any words but rather an inaudible shriek of hostility.

"Kagami, calm down! Why are you doing this to us?! We just want to help!" Miki shouted as the screaming and crying Tsukasa took refuge behind her mother.

Kagami suddenly threw the knife at her mother and she was able to duck the flying object. Using it as a distraction, Kagami turned and ran with all her might towards the stairs as Tadao and Inori gave chase for fear she would hurt herself. Tsukasa's screaming and crying continued as Miki hugged her tight while stroking her soft hair.

The twin-tailed girl finally made it to her room and dashed in as Tadao and Inori followed. Kagami stopped in her room and turned back to them, still showing a face of pulsating and relentless fury. She tore her hooded sweatshirt off and threw it at her father to show the damage she had done. The first thing they saw was the heartbreaking red marks on Kagami's veins in her arm. They could see several needle wounds and red trails that led further up her arm, a souvenir left by the heroin.

"You want the fucking truth?! Fine, I admit it! I am a junkie bitch! I shoot heroin and started smoking crack today! I hear voices and see Matsuri's face on a daily basis so I decided to start these drugs and I have to tell you, life is fucking great when I do it!" Kagami screamed her lungs out. "I can't take the guilt or the pressure anymore! I don't want it anymore! I don't want to remember my sister! I don't want to remember Kusakabe! I don't even want to go to college anymore! Fuck all of that! I just want all the torment to stop! I can't fucking sleep anymore without feeling this hell that tears me apart! I need those drugs!"

Kagami began coughing loudly as her throat turned dry and raspy.

"Calm down, Kagami!" Inori cried. "You don't need drugs! We can help you! Let us help you get through this as a family! We're the ones who love you!"

Kagami's burning eyes analyzed ever single inch of her oldest sister and her father. Her eyes saw their rising panic and they were determined to stop Kagami's emotional meltdown. It was a genuine attempt by her family but the intruder surging though her system was telling her something different. Kagami trusted the drugs now more than anything else and she knew her family was going to try and take them away from her. Her irrational anger was motivated out of fear more than anything. She was so afraid of facing the reality over Matsuri and Misao and dealing with their deaths and her self-imposed pressure without the substances that completely took all her fears and anguish away in the blink of an eye. She knew that without the drugs, her road to recovery was going to be long, arduous, and borderline impossible. As a result, Kagami was acting what she believed was self-defense and self-preservation.

"Get out! Get out! Get the fuck out!" Kagami screeched and began swinging her open palms at her father and sister.

The two instinctively backed up while still screaming Kagami's name and for her to calm down. Kagami's vicious assault continued as she forced her two family members out her door but Tadao made a costly mistake. He latched onto the open doorframe as Kagami simultaneously grabbed her door and pushed it shut with all her might. Tadao's fingers on his right hand were still in the doorframe when the heavy door slammed on them, making him scream in pain and Inori added her squeal of horror and Kagami opened and slammed the door quickly again, striking his fingers again and deepening his scream. Kagami held the door shut as her father continued to scream for her to release him but her screams of withdrawing pain overlapped his of pain. Kagami began to push the door harder and harder, sending more pain into her father and draining more of his blood.

With the heavy door still holding his fingers hostage and drawing blood, Tadao was forced to pull his hand back with all his might, tearing the skin off and making the blood fly freely as Kagami's door finally slammed shut completely. Tadao fell to the floor and Inori collapsed next to him and grabbed his pulsing hand that was now covered in the red liquid. Crying and screaming herself, Inori helped her father downstairs and into the kitchen, where Miki and Tsukasa only added more cries when they saw the blood and scraped flesh.

Miki took a washcloth and wrapped several ice cubes in it and quickly applied it to her husband's hand as he continued to vocalize his discomfort. She rounded up her other two daughters and ordered them to get into the family car to go to the hospital. She feared Tadao's hand was broken as the budding bruising was beginning to indicate. Though she was still concerned about Kagami, Miki knew they couldn't afford to have her in her current state with them in the confined space of a car. She had no choice but to roll the dice and leave her alone as she rushed her panicked family to the hospital.

Kagami watched from her window as they sped away from the house and she realized she was alone. For once, she was happy she was alone with the last of the drugs pumping throughout her body. However, the chills and cold sweats coming from the withdrawal prompted Kagami to once again conclude she needed a fix. Of course, she once again found herself in a bit of a financial bind. She blew through all the money she got from selling her mother's heirlooms and was back to square one.

There had to be some cash in the house somewhere. Kagami once again knew that she was going to be forced into thievery to get her fix and she quickly entered Inori's room. Her oldest sister's room had a traditional girly setup with a large table and mirror in front of it with her cosmetics and skin care products but Kagami bypassed all of them. She found her sister's purse under her bed and this time, spared no restraint in tearing into it.

As her breathing and sweating continued and the pain constricted tighter around her brain, Kagami dumped everything out onto the floor. It infuriated the rogue twin-tailed Hiiragi to see mostly makeup, breath mints, house keys, a movie ticket stub, and a few loose coins fall out of the purse. Even Inori's wallet was thin and it included mostly personal effects like her driver's license, student ID card for college, credit and debit cards, and public library card. The small amount of cash she had in her wallet wasn't even enough for a small hit of heroin but Kagami snatched it nonetheless and left her sister's room with her purse and the contents of it scattered all over the floor.

Kagami couldn't stop. Her conscience was still numb as the withdrawal continued its vicious onslaught within her, even telling her that her very life was in danger if she didn't get more drugs. Kagami dashed for her parents' room, sweat still trickling down her face and dripping onto the floor. She found her father's wallet sitting on his dresser and dove for it. Also tearing it open as she panted and trembled in agony, Kagami found enough cash to get a few hits of heroin but it was still the crack cocaine she desired and craved the most. For now, she knew that she would have to settle for the lesser drug for the night until she could start all over again the next day.

The twin-tailed girl tore into the nighttime atmosphere outside and ran with her cell phone. She made another call to her drug dealer but for once, she encountered a problem as she ran. He wasn't picking up. She tried calling him over and over again until she reached her twelfth attempt in only two minutes that was also met with rising anger and panic. Why wasn't he picking up? Though Kagami didn't see it this way, it proved she had an addiction problem when her anger exploded and she threw herself to her knees in the middle of the desolate street and started screaming and cussing Ryuji. The mentality of believing that she wasn't going to get her fix tonight sent every negative emotion possible into Kagami as she continued to wander the streets aimlessly and angrily.

She had no idea how long she walked or where she was by this point, but that wasn't on her mind. The voices continued to plague her mind and as Kagami continued to stumble down the street, they kept talking to her while constricting her very essence. Did everything at her house truly happen or was it all a horrible hallucination? Did she truly pull a knife on her family members and possibly break her own father's hand? The withdrawal was becoming so intense that Kagami was beginning to lose her true grip on reality. The guilt started to eat her up and the only way she saw out of these horrid feelings of self-contempt was to further divulge herself into the drugs. She tried Ryuji for a thirteenth time after wandering the streets for nearly an hour.

As the dial tone continued, Kagami was finally able to comprehend the fact that she had wandered far away from her neighborhood and into the slums of the district not too far away from the pawn shop where she sold her mother's heirlooms. Kagami's feet carried her under an overpass where she was blasted by the smell of urine and garbage, though her senses were numbed to it. Graffiti was painted everywhere on the cement pillars holding the overpass up as the cars drove overhead and Kagami felt herself become weaker and weaker with every step.

Suddenly, the dial tones stopped and she heard Ryuji's voice on the phone.

"I…need…you…" She whispered and the strength in her knees began to give.

"Of course. What do you want, how much, and when do you want it?" He asked.

Kagami's blood-shot eyes lingered to her left and right in the darkness until a street lamp illuminated an old, moldy mattress sitting next to a dumpster. Her eyes absorbed it and her mind interpreted it as a real bed and her fatigued body went on autopilot to guide her to it as she replied to Ryuji.

"Everything…and now…" She replied with a cough and glanced her eyes upward above the moldy mattress. "I'm at the place…where the black sun meets the stars…and where the grim reaper takes the souls…"

The phone slipped from Kagami's grip and it bounced on the dirty cement as the ailing girl's legs finally gave out and she fell downward. She collapsed onto the moldy, urine-soaked mattress that was also covered in spray paint and Kagami passed out completely. Ryuji was still on the line and his voice could be heard calling her name over and over again. His voice and the crickets were the only noises in the cold night.

Above the mattress where Kagami unconsciously rested, the random shapes, symbols, and even gang signs that were the graffiti transformed into several clear artistic images. The images she described for Ryuji included a sun painted on the overpass pillar that was turning black by an eclipse and the stars were following it, as if all the light in this new world was slowly disappearing and turning into a cold and infinite night. Directly adjacent from the blackening sun was a painted image of the grim reaper as it held its scythe over its shoulder while reaching its other arm forward, the skeletal hand taking in additional images of human souls floating towards it as they ascended from another painted image of a graveyard.

What made the image more ominous was the fact that the grim reaper's hand and face was focused directly on top of the unconscious Kagami Hiiragi.


	12. Chapter 12

CHAPTER 11

"Game over!" The digital voice sounded from the TV set in the home of Konata Izumi. The blue-haired girl had grinned happily as she held her controller while her cousin Yutaka Kobayakawa presented a look that expressed the opposite. She once again held her head in defeat.

"I'm no good at these games, onee-chan." Yutaka said with embarrassment though took her loss with grace as she giggled with a blush across her face.

"Ah don't sweat it, Yu-chan. What do you say we take a break? I have another box of those chocolate wafer thingies that we can open." Konata said.

The offer was happily accepted by Yutaka and the two cousins made their way into the kitchen and began snacking on the treat. It was times like this that Konata was always grateful that Yutaka was staying with her even though they wouldn't be seeing much of each other at high school anymore. Konata wasn't worried about Yutaka though since she knew that Minami was always going to be there for her, as well as her other friends.

It wasn't the simple company that Konata solely enjoyed about having Yutaka around, though. It was also because Yutaka was able to connect with people through her innocence and the salmon-haired girl was always able to sense when someone was either in pain or confused about something. As the two girls continued to work on the chocolate wafers, Yutaka's intuitive perspective kicked in again when she saw an unusually meek face on her cousin. Konata was always flamboyant and outlandish in her personality and appearance so to see a submissive look on her face was a cause for investigation.

"Um…onee-chan, are you okay? You look a little depressed." Yutaka observed as she swallowed the last of another wafer.

Konata smiled on the inside and thanked Yutaka in her mind for asking for there was something that was bothering her, though she didn't know how to bring it up. It was a situation that was eating away at Konata since the last time she saw her best friend at her older sister's funeral which seemed like a decade ago by this point. It was an issue that concerned Konata even more when she received a phone call from Tsukasa earlier this morning asking if Kagami was there and that she said that her older sister was planning on seeing her and bringing video games. Of course, Konata wasn't aware of such a meeting ever taking place and tried to reach Kagami on her cell phone but to no avail.

"Well…now that you mention it, there is something that has been bothering me." Konata said, still with subtlety in her voice. "I haven't been able to stop thinking about Kagami since her sister's funeral and this morning I got a phone call from Tsukasa wondering where she was. According to her, she bumped into Kagami as she was about to leave the house and she said that she was coming here with some games but never showed up and I haven't been able to get in contact with her. Call it weird but I can't help but feel that something's aloof here."

Yutaka simply sat and listened with interest to the growing quagmire that was beginning to plague the Hiiragi household. She cleared her throat and replied, "I can see why you would be concerned about that, but I'm sure Kagami is fine. You know how tough she is."

Konata nodded back to her cousin. "I do but that's not what concerns me. She's just been acting very strange lately and I still can't get that last thing she said to me out of my head. She told me to leave her alone and I could see that she truly meant it. She wasn't just venting her emotions; she really wanted me to keep my distance from her and she knew how much that would hurt me."

"Onee-chan, she lost her big sister in a car accident and then went through that horrifying ordeal with Kusakabe-san." Yutaka added. "Maybe she did just truly need her space and still does."

Konata couldn't help but nod. "I guess…but it's still hard for me to believe. If what Tsukasa was telling me was true about how Kagami's been acting at home, especially after that mall outing they had, then I am still concerned."

"I understand that you really care about Kagami and the wellbeing of her family. You're such a great person that I look up to and I couldn't even begin to understand the pain that Tsukasa is feeling." Yutaka said and became more sentimental. "To be honest, you became my hero after I moved in to go to school. My big sister was always there for me and I idolized her too so I know what it feels like to be the youngest and to have someone older and wiser to look up to. And to see that idol in such pain over the loss of a family member must be so sad that I feel for Tsukasa."

Konata sighed and nodded slightly. "I see where you're coming from."

Yutaka nodded back. "Plus at least Tsukasa is willing to keep you in the loop of what's going on. She loves Kagami so much that she's always willing to reach out for help if it would make her big sister happy again."

Konata smiled. She couldn't help but whisper, "Tsukasa…what a gift to the world."

A long pause settled upon Konata and Yutaka, however it wasn't a long and awkward pause. It was a pause that only two people who were very close to each other could share without it feeling strange or uncomfortable. One of the cousins had an issue she needed to talk about and the second one was there to listen. They were a team in that regard so it presented a pause that allowed them to simply sit and enjoy the other's company. Nothing more had to be said on this issue between them. The harmonious silence was shattered by Konata's incessant cell phone ringtone, motivating her to reach for it and see it was Tsukasa's number calling her.

"Well speak of the devil," Konata said with a chuckle as she opened the phone. "Hello there Tsukasa."

Konata instantly had to pull the phone away from her ear when Tsukasa's crying tore through the receptor. It took several attempts to calm the distraught Hiiragi twin down until she was finally able to assemble her words.

"Kona-chan! Kagami…she attacked us! She hurt my daddy! We're at the hospital now! He has a broken hand!" Tsukasa wailed. "Mom found out that Kagami has been taking drugs! She says she's been shooting heroin and smoking crack!"

Konata felt her heart skip a beat upon hearing the devastating news from the crying Tsukasa. So many things she wanted to cry upon hearing the revelation from Tsukasa, most of them involving denial. She wanted to even call Tsukasa a liar because of the very thought of her best friend being addicted to such drugs made her sick. However, that wasn't her personality and all she wanted was to talk to Kagami. "Where is she now? Put her on the phone."

"She's not with us! We left her at the house to rush dad to the emergency room and I've been trying to call her but it keeps going straight to voicemail!" Tsukasa replied loudly. "I'm so scared, Konata! What do I do?! What do I do?!"

It took a lot of Konata's mental strength to keep her from losing her cool as well. Konata had no choice but to believe that Kagami now had a drug addiction just by listening to the scale of Tsukasa's verbal meltdown on the phone. Konata took the advice she was about to give Tsukasa and took a deep breath.

"Okay, Tsukasa, I need you to take a few deep breaths and calm down." Konata instructed. "Just keep listening to my voice and remember that I'm here for you. You're my friend and you know you can always count on me no matter what happens. Now relax and tell me what happened."

Tsukasa was soothed a bit by Konata's words and she did her best to settle herself. The youngest and most scared in the Hiiragi family recalled every horrifying moment from start to finish and every gruesome detail in-between. How Kagami came home and was acting strange and her mother theorized of a drug addiction, sending Tsukasa into an emotional nosedive. How her every attempt at comforting her sister resulted in the cold shoulder and ultimately, a violent outburst that resulted in Tadao's broken hand. When Tsukasa completed her tale, she started crying again.

Konata couldn't help but cringe at every word that escaped Tsukasa's mouth. Every word was like a horror film projected before Konata's mind and it only furthered her own panic when she learned the details of Kagami's withdrawal. The blue-haired girl was assaulted by two worst case scenarios; her best friend was now a drug addict and her other best friend was an endless supply of distraught emotions. Konata was so blindsided by this horrific revelation that she had no idea what she could do or say to calm down Tsukasa.

"Tsukasa, listen to me. Everything is going to all right. I know you don't want to hear what I'm about to say but you need to be strong and you need to be a pillar of strength for your family now." Konata said. "I want you to stay close to your family tonight and keep trying Kagami's cell phone. I'll ask around and we'll find her. I promise you will find her, okay?"

"Okay…" Tsukasa was able to whimper after several sniffles and coughs. "Thank…you…"

Tsukasa didn't want to pull her ear away from her phone but she had no choice when she heard the click and her conversation was over. She stood in the emergency room surrounded by sick and injured people, which only furthered her distress and the youngest Hiiragi daughter turned and dashed back to her family. It was an empty wish that Tsukasa had to return to the calm and collective group of people she loved when she saw a nurse bandaging her father's bruised hand.

The nurse continued to apply the splint to the aching man's hand as he sat in a chair and continued to wince in pain. The nurse cleared her throat and said, "So how did this happen again?"

Tadao was prepared for this question and quickly answered before the rest of his family could. "I caught my hand in the car door."

The nurse squinted her eyes with suspicion while Miki, Inori, and Tsukasa continued to watch and stay close. She retorted, "Must've been a big car door and a hard slam."

Tadao gulped. "Well I will admit it was embarrassing."

"I can understand that. Anyway like I said earlier you have three broken fingers and a fractured tubercle. You'll need to wear this for the next eight weeks and I'm sorry to say this but you're not going to be feeling very well for that time so I'll have the doctor write you a prescription." The nurse said and put the final touches on the cast around the black, blue, and purple hand.

After the nurse gave Tadao a few more instructions on cast care, she left them alone to fetch a prescription for painkillers. It allowed the broken Hiiragi family time to regroup and figure out what to do next with their angry daughter.

"Lying to a nurse about the cause of that injury? That was an excellent display of fatherly honesty for your daughters." Miki snapped sarcastically.

"If I told her the real reason she would've called the police and Kagami would've been arrested. If you think she's feeling the pinch now, what do you think a criminal record will do to her?" Tadao groaned in pain. "Nobody has to know about any of this. We can still help her. We just need to get her into a doctor's office, maybe even a rehab program if it has to come to that. We'll do whatever it takes and pay any cost to help her. She's just in so much pain over Matsuri and Kusakabe."

"But look what she did to you, dear." Miki confronted and reared her rare but still existent aggressive side. "She assaulted you and Inori and your hand is broken. We know she's on crack and heroin so what's keeping her from targeting the rest of us next time we try and confront her?"

To everyone's surprise, Tadao suddenly became emotional as he stared at his bruised hand. "I…I just hate thinking about…what could happen to her…if she was arrested for something…like this. She…she's worked so hard and has made all of us so proud…and for her to lose it all…I just hate thinking that it could happen to her. Someone like Kagami…"

Tsukasa shared her pain with her father the most and rushed over to him and hugged him. Her natural feminine aroma helped settle some of the stress they were feeling in lieu of the traumatic encounter with Kagami. Tsukasa pulled back and weakly said, "I agree with you, dad. Kagami is in so much pain and we have to help her. The big sis I know and love is still in there and I want to do whatever I can to bring her back. I love her so much and I know everyone here does so please, don't give up on my sis! Please help me bring her back to me! To us!"

Seeing her youngest daughter display such nobility and love for her sibling warmed Miki's heart. She remembered the conversation they had in Kagami's room a few hours ago about getting Kagami help and it was Tsukasa's endless supply of love and innocence that reminded Miki of what was truly important to her. She concluded her husband was right in his words and she had to admit that Kagami was sick and needed help. Miki hugged Tsukasa and Inori, as well as her husband to show her support. She still wanted to help Kagami.

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An unholy and even deafening screech began to tear through Kagami's brain as her consciousness began to return the next morning. So many noises were trying to register in her mind at once but she didn't know that it was the series of events after her return home the previous night replaying in her brain. She was processing so many things that ranged from her mother's crying voice followed by her angry tone, Tsukasa's crying voice, the smell of dinner, the clanging of forks and spoons and finally, screams from everyone, including her. Something had happened the previous night but she couldn't picture it, she could only hear it and feel it. It hurt. It hurt a lot.

A new and unwanted sensation began to tickle Kagami's senses. She could smell a putrid mixture of mold, urine, garbage, and bad breath that smelt of alcohol. A solid yet wet and warm touch began to drag itself across her cheek, intensifying the odor that plagued her nose, prompting Kagami to twitch her eyes and slowly open them.

Her vision was blurry as her hearing returned and she could hear a strange sound that made her cringe as it sounded like a dying animal. She could suddenly feel a solid form on top of her and she shifted her tired eyes upward and her heart went into overdrive when she realized it was a man that was straddling her. When her vision became clear, she tried to scream in terror but his hand quickly cupped her mouth.

A homeless man was holding her down. His face was directly in hers and she could see every grisly and repulsive feature about him. He had a long gray beard with only five teeth in his mouth; all of them a disturbing yellow color and his skin were riddled with sores and hives. To Kagami's further horror, the man only had one eye with the other one discolored and his eyeless socket was covered with a layer of rotting skin. His smile was that of a madman with perverted intentions as he lowered her face to the squealing and struggling Kagami again. He breathed in her natural fragrance and continued to grunt animalistic noises to show the pleasure he was feeling.

Kagami felt the urge to throw up when he dragged his tongue across her face as the frightened girl continued to try and scream for help. She was still pinned on the disgusting mattress under the overpass and she feared one of her worst nightmares was about to come to fruition. She was going to be raped in some disgusting area by some crazed animal. She released tears from her eyes as the man continued to lick her face while guide his free hand under her shirt and maneuver upward. He ran his cold and clammy hand across her warm belly until he moved towards her pants.

The frightened twin-tailed Hiiragi still thrashed in vain as he felt the homeless animal unbutton and unzip her pants. Her eyes still throwing tears, Kagami thought she was going to be violated and murdered under that overpass and she closed her eyes tightly while still screaming into the clammy hand over her mouth. She braced for the inevitable pain until the unexpected happened.

A metal pole came from above them and sounded an earsplitting crack against the would-be rapist's head, immediately opening his head and his blood fell on Kagami's face. As the perpetrator began to fall forward on Kagami, a hand from above grabbed him and yanked him off the terrified girl with all his might. When he was completely off her, Kagami scurried off the mattress and curled into a shivering ball resting against the overpass column.

She cast her crying eyes upward and saw Ryuji drag the homeless man further away from her and she was too scared to cry. What came next though made her even more scared but she couldn't scream for him to stop. The would-be rapist was still alive and began to grunt and cry for mercy as his cranium leaked blood while he winced from the attack.

Ryuji didn't listen. He thrust his metal pole down over and over again, pounding the man's head into the dirty concrete. Each blow sent more blood and hair flying like confetti as the gruesome sound of bones breaking echoed across the overpass. Ryuji's eyes were like a vicious animal taking down its prey as he continued to hammer the man's head into the cement, turning the area around his victim's head into a mesh of red and pink. All the while Kagami continued to sit in her ball protecting her loins and watched in horror as a man lost his life before her own eyes. She never saw anything so horrible and her tears only intensified while she stayed tucked in her cocoon of chastity protecting her loins and trembling violently.

Ryuji's vicious attack on the man finally ended and he threw the large metal pole away, making it clang and echo under the overpass as the sounds of more cars passing overhead was heard. He turned to look at Kagami, his face stained with a few blood droplets and he quickly wiped them away as he approached the shaking girl.

Making his approach, Kagami only tightened herself with every step he made closer to her. His face showed no remorse for taking a man's life despite the heinous crime he was planning on committing on Kagami. She always believed all lives were sacred but to see a young man only a few years older than her take one away so easily only further degraded her mentality and in such a macabre fashion. Ryuji acted as if he was out for a nice relaxing walk after he killed another human and it was seeing this much casualness that still made Kagami tremble in fear as he bent down to her.

Ryuji eyed Kagami over checking for any injuries and he slowly lifted his hand up. Kagami nearly screamed when he touched her face but it was a soft and comforting contact she felt when he gently gripped her chin and moved her head to each side, still scanning her for injuries while she still wept. Ryuji could see that he arrived just in time and she wasn't beaten or raped so he pulled his hand away.

"Are you okay, Kagami?" He asked, still casually.

Kagami shivered and grunted in vast fear but Ryuji continued to try and comfort her. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a handkerchief and began to gently wipe the sticky saliva off her face. Kagami was initially frightened by this touch from the drug dealer and murderer but it became warm and comforting for her. The twin-tailed girl was attacked by a would-be rapist and even though she was rescued, she still felt open, scared, and vulnerable. She unintentionally nestled her face deeper into Ryuji's hand and began to open her shell.

"Ye…yes. I'm fine. But you…you killed him." Kagami whispered as a tear fell from her eyes.

Ryuji nodded, still casually and emotionlessly. "Yeah, I killed him. He was going to hurt you I couldn't allow that. If something happened to you, I don't know what I'd do. Besides, he was just a homeless bum; a parasite and a drain on society. It's not like the cops will put much effort into finding the assailant."

Kagami gulped upon hearing how callous Ryuji spoke of murder. However, she still couldn't deny the fact that she was still scared from the trauma and he was the only one there that was willing to comfort her. She dried her eyes and began to look around the dirty area under the overpass. As she observed, she scooted closer to Ryuji until he made the move. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close into a hug. Feeling the warmth of his body seeped through Kagami's shell and she began crying. She cried loudly while burying her face in his chest while he stroked her back and head. He allowed Kagami to vent her emotions until five minutes passed and she slowly pulled away while wiping her face and glanced around again.

"Thank you…for saving me." Kagami whispered. "How did you find me?"

"Don't you remember the phone call last night?" Ryuji asked as he released her and the two sat next to each other.

Kagami shook her head.

"You called me last night for more goods and you sounded pretty messed up. The only clue you gave me was 'where the black sun meets the stars and the grim reaper takes the souls.' To me that was a dead giveaway." Ryuji replied and looked up and behind her.

Kagami followed his cue and turned her head upward above them and saw the graffiti and images of the eclipse and symbolic figure of death watching them. "How…how did you know where to find this?" She asked.

"Who do you think painted that?" Ryuji asked with a small grin.

Kagami's eyes widened. "You?"

Ryuji nodded and even showed a hint of embarrassment. "Yeah…it's kind of a hobby of mine. Remember how I once told you my family wanted me to be a doctor?"

Kagami nodded.

"Well I always believed that I had a calling to be an artist because I have so many thoughts and emotions in me that could never be expressed by writing on a prescription pad all day." Ryuji replied. "Anyway that's just me. How about you?"

"What about me?"

"What do you think your calling is? You always struck me as the intellectual type and would probably go a liberal arts route to further some school of thought. Probably something more challenging to the average man like law or economics for example." Ryuji speculated.

Kagami glanced away. "Well…I guess. I don't really know anymore. I…I should get home."

Kagami stood and Ryuji mimicked her movement. "You're going home?" He asked.

Kagami's eyes wanted to say yes but her overall face told a different story. "I don't know. I want to but something's telling me that I shouldn't. I think something really bad happened at my home last night but I can't remember. I…I guess I'll go see a friend and talk to her. I said some pretty mean things to her at my sister's funeral and I should tell her I'm sorry.

Ryuji nodded. "I understand. But if you ever need a place to crash I live with a few friends not too far away from here. You…you could stay with me if you wanted. I like you after all."

Kagami's heart skipped a beat and her face turned red. "You…you like me? In…in what way?"

Ryuji remained calm unlike the shaking twin-tailed girl. "I see something special in you. Something that doesn't exist in any other girl I've ever met. I guess you could say I _really_ like you. If you wanted…I would really like to take you out sometime."

The twin-tailed girl's blush deepened. She turned her head away and so many emotions exploded in her mind. She couldn't believe that she was asked out by not only a drug dealer but also a murderer. What made the situation even more unbelievable for her was the fact that she was actually considering saying yes. She had witnessed Ryuji kill someone and was responsible for her drug addiction, yet she started to believe that she needed him. Her original concept of love that was taught to her by her family was becoming corrupted and twisted by the addiction and Ryuji's never-ending calmness and mental strength. Despite her tough demeanor in the past, she had to admit that she always wanted a boyfriend but no one either picked up on her signals or took the initiative to woo her. It usually led her to become depressed and feel unwanted though she would never admit that and whenever Konata would make jokes about her weight, it would only add to her self-loathing, though she would also never admit that. Yet it seemed that this boy was taking charge for once and Kagami had to admit that she was intrigued by him. Still, the remnants of her family's principles were still telling her to run.

Kagami looked away and sighed. "I don't know, Ryuji. I mean, I appreciate what you did for me but I just don't know."

"It's okay. I understand that you're scared but you don't have to be anymore." Ryuji countered, making Kagami look at him again. "I understand why you would remain on guard against someone like me but I think you and I have a lot more in common than you want to admit. We were both pushed around by the pressures of life until I threw off my shackles and decided to make my own life. Kagami…please join me. If we're together, we can become stronger and make a new life with other people like us. You'll never be alone again."

Kagami's heart sped wildly in her chest. She gulped and slowly outstretched her hand, hoping Ryuji would take it. He grinned lightly and he cupped Kagami's trembling hand and led her out from the overpass. They walked together as Kagami studied herself and concluded she was a mess and craved a change of clothes and a hot shower.

Ryuji smiled again. "Let me buy you some new clothes. My cousin works at a store at the mall where they sell specialty clothing."

"What's your cousin's name?" Kagami asked, still blushing sweating from the simple gesture of handholding.

"Her name is Yuka. Yuka Miyakawa and the store she works at is called The Black Window."


	13. Chapter 13

CHAPTER 12

Ryuji guided his new girlfriend in Kagami Hiiragi to another part of the horrid section of town where the twin-tailed girl had sold her mother's precious artifacts and witnessed a bizarre encounter at a building known only as Teasers. She was still scared about this new lifestyle she was walking into but her mentality wanted to believe that Ryuji was a good guy and that he would always be there to protect her. Ever since she was a toddler, Kagami always had a tough personality but this boy, this deliverer of pain relief, he was able to dive into her entire being and be the tougher one. Kagami never knew how truly exhausted she was of being the tough one so she believed that being in the comforting embrace of someone stronger would help ease not only her stress, but also keep the pain of Matsuri and Misao away.

With their hands still connected, Kagami and Ryuji walked down a sidewalk and rounded a corner that led them to a rusty apartment complex. As they neared it, a young woman a few years older than Kagami suddenly came out of her apartment and locked it up. She turned and began walking towards them until she spotted the couple moving in her direction and she smiled.

Kagami however was still intimidated by this girl's atmosphere, especially her wardrobe. She was dressed in tight black leggings with heavy black boots that came up to her knees, her torso was covered by a revealing tube top that showed her pierced navel while wearing a tattered jean jacket over it with several buttons pinned to it of different heavy metal bands. Her hair was a dirty blonde with a blue stripe on one side with a purple one on the other and were both in two short pigtails. She also wore black heavy eye shadow with bright red lipstick and her ears were covered with piercings.

"What up, cousin?" She asked in a deep voice.

"How you doin' Yuka?" Ryuji said with a smile. "Yuka, this is my new girlfriend. Her name is Hiiragi Kagami."

Kagami's focus was still glued to the intimidating girl that she didn't notice the look on Ryuji's face. He formed a sinister grin and quickly winked at Yuka to give her a sign. Yuka picked up on it and shot back an even more malignant smirk and began to play along with a giggle. All the while Kagami had no idea the two cousins were planning meticulously to keep her in their lifestyle forever. Little did Kagami know, but these two "people" had done things like this before. They had lured in unsuspecting girls into a lifestyle where the average lifespan ended at age twenty-five. It was all for money and greed and they didn't care who they had to trample on or throw to the wolves to get all of it.

"Well it's a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Hiiragi. Mind if I call you Kagami? I know we just met but any girl brave and tough enough to tame my dumbass cousin deserves all the formalities and seniority there is. I might even have to call you Kagami-sama." She said with a charming voice and smile.

Kagami couldn't help but smile back. It reminded her of when she wanted Konata to call her that but as a joke. Leave it to Konata to actually use it and turn the joke around on her. However, seeing how nice and friendly Yuka was made Kagami feel more at ease and she smiled back and nodded, giving her approval to call her such.

"You guys caught me on my way to work so walk with me." Yuka said again with a smile and began to walk forward as Ryuji and Kagami followed.

"My girl here needs a new wardrobe so we were hoping for a 'family' discount if you catch my drift, Yuka." Ryuji said.

Yuka's first response was to laugh. "Family?! I'm still not convinced that I wasn't adopted so no discount for you! You're the man so you pay in full for your girl!"

Kagami giggled lightly as Ryuji rolled his eyes and said, "Whatever you're so cheap, just like when we were kids. Not much has changed…even in our vices now."

Yuka smiled maliciously as she walked towards her business at the mall. She knew that her cousin was dropping innuendos for her to pick up on and it only made her lust for not only the drugs, but also for her cravings of the flesh. If Kagami could read minds, it would only take two seconds to see that Yuka Miyakawa was a full-blown psychopath inside and she would run screaming. A girl that dedicated her whole life to a world of endless drugs, stripping, sexual encounters, and also wasn't afraid to get her hands bloody as well. If someone would search her body, they more than likely wound find a 666 birthmark. Ironically, she had a 666 tattoo on her lower back as her version of a tramp stamp.

When the three of them reached the mall, Kagami tightened her grip on Ryuji's hand when they walked past the food court. She dared not look at the increasing activity for fear of seeing the same familiar face that continued to haunt her nightmares and thoughts. She breathed deeply and couldn't get away from the haunting place soon enough until they neared the store. For some reason, the name The Black Window sounded familiar to Kagami but she couldn't picture it in her mind. That is until she actually saw it.

Déjà vu struck Kagami when she saw the risqué shop that specialized in dark and promiscuous clothing that would be treated like the plague at the Hiiragi household. Yuka unlocked the door and led her cousin and Kagami into the dark store and the twin-tailed girl was further disturbed by everything in the shop. More licentious and revealing clothes dangled from the walls and ceiling, as well as dark and frightening jewelry in display cases. Even toys of adult nature and desires had price tags on them, making Kagami gulp and a glimmer of her former self suddenly cracked through.

She freed her hand from Ryuji's grip and she backed up with anger. "These things…they're horrible! Disgusting! Are these the rags that you want to put on me, Ryuji?! To dress me up like I'm your personal whore?! How could you?!"

Ryuji still remained calm and folded his arms across his chest. "Kagami, these are the things my cousin sells. Yes, some of them are provocative in nature and are meant to be sexy, but she doesn't sell _just_ that. I'm sure if you give this place a chance you'll be able to find something that catches your interest."

Kagami tightened her frown at him.

"And don't forget that I'm the one who can get you everything you ever need." Ryuji grinned and reached into his pocket and retracted a small bag of crack.

Kagami held a poker face but Ryuji could see right through the act and knew the twin-tailed girl was practically drooling in delight at the drugs. She tried her best to hide her bodily quivers and her core began to turn to ice as her cravings for the substances began to return. Her withdrawal symptoms went dormant for the night but her mind realized how truly addicted she was when she believed that she couldn't go on anymore without them the second she saw them again. She rubbed her arm where most of her heroin was injected as the veins throbbed with hunger for more.

The twin-tailed girl once again began to look around the interior of The Black Window and took in all the clothes, jewelry, and novelties. She blinked hard a few times to make sure she was truly awake and standing in such a store. As the hardest of the withdrawal continued to wear off, her sense of reality began to return and she began to ask herself if she was making a mistake by being there. Was she truly considering living a lifestyle that involved hard drugs and even probable involvement in unattached sex? Kagami was still a virgin and wanted to remain that way until her wedding night. When she remembered her secret desire to have a real boyfriend and eventual husband, Kagami realized she may be in the wrong place.

She cleared her throat and said, "I…I have to go. I don't want to see you ever again, Ryuji."

Kagami quickly turned and ran out of The Black Window, leaving the two criminals alone in the dysfunctional store. Yuka turned her head and watched her cousin stash the drugs back into his pocket. She huffed and hissed, "Are you sure you wanna let that one go? I think she could've made a hot little addition to our team."

Ryuji huffed back. "She'll be back. I saw the way she was staring at the drugs. She won't be able to live without them, especially when she has to face her family about how she got the money for them."

Yuka walked behind the front counter of her store and reached into one of the drawers. She slowly pulled out a dagger with a razor silver blade and a metal snake as the handle. She played with the blade and retorted, "I hope you're right, cousin. She had one of the sexiest bodies I've ever seen. I want her so make sure she comes back to me. I want to taste her lips…her flesh…her blood…"

"Relax. You'll get your share of skin with her. With any luck you'll be able to team up with her at Teasers. I heard Itou is looking for a new girl for not only the dancing but also to be a 'companion.'" Ryuji replied as he kept his arms folded across his chest.

Yuka giggled while raising the dagger blade to her teeth and she tapped it on her teeth. "I would love that, cousin, I would love that. It would be nice to have a toy of my own to play with while I let those pathetic husbands and businessmen fuck me. I think she'll do just fine."

"Hey, there's something I've wanted to talk to you about." Ryuji became serious. "Itou is still telling me that he's been having trouble with those pricks from the other side of town. They're trying to muscle in on our rackets and our turf. I also heard they're looking for revenge for what you did to one of their boys."

Yuka giggled sinisterly again. "Well dear cousin, what can I say? I'm like the Black Widow Spider. I have my way with my man…and then I gut him like a fucking trout. He tasted so divine."

"Regardless, take it easy next time. I heard those guys are still having a hard time trying to find the rest of him. Sounded like you had a _real_ good time with him." Ryuji scolded. "The last thing we want is to attract more cops. I'll slit my own throat before I go back to prison."

"Oh relax my precious little cousin. Life is too short to worry." Yuka whispered as she stared seductively at her dagger blade and gently ran her tongue against it while moaning.

As the two malevolent cousins continued to converse, Kagami Hiiragi finally made it outside the mall and continued to head home at a hastened pace. Being inside The Black Window brought a haunting and putrid aroma with it that shook her to her icy core and Kagami was trying to convince herself she was better than that. Her arm still craved heroin to be injected into it but there had to be another way out. Kagami was briefly able to picture herself in those clothes and lifestyle and knew her problems would only be furthered if she stayed with Ryuji. Kagami was beginning to find her strength again when she thought about Tsukasa. She knew that no matter what turmoil she was in, she would always be able to rely on her younger twin sister to love and support her.

Kagami kept walking further and further until she heard a familiar voice cry her name. She turned her head towards the source of the voice and her heart was both torn between agony and happiness when she saw Konata Izumi crossing the street and rushing over to her. The blue-haired girl stopped in front of Kagami and she displayed an anxious expression.

"Where have you been, Kagami?! Are you okay?! Tsukasa called me last night and she was a wreck! Is it…is it true that you've been doing…drugs?" Konata hesitated towards the end.

Kagami stood above Konata until she made a move that the blue-haired girl didn't see coming. The twin-tailed tsundere bent down and hugged Konata tightly. She hugged her petite friend tighter and tighter to the point where Konata became short of breath. Kagami eventually pulled out of her hug, though Konata kind of wished she didn't. She stood above Konata again and quickly grabbed her smaller hands and held them.

"Konata…I'm so sorry I treated you the way I did at Matsuri's funeral. You're my best friend and…I wasn't feeling well. I was on drugs but I'm going home now to try and make this right with my family." Kagami confessed in a very heartfelt tone. "Please…still be my friend. I'm going to need your support through this whole ordeal and I want to count on you to be a shoulder to lean on and a voice to pick me up when I start to believe that I'm not strong enough to make it."

Despite Konata's flamboyant and carefree attitude, she was still human and felt emotions just like everyone else. To hear her best friend confess she was on drugs and to immediately express regret over it both broke and warmed Konata's heart. The blue-haired girl didn't know what to make of this situation but she could see and hear that Kagami was honest in her words when she said she still wanted Konata to be her friend. It was her insight that made her form her infamous cat-like grin and she hugged Kagami again, which the twin-tailed girl quickly and happily accepted.

"I love you, Kagamin. Nothing will ever change that. If you need anything…you know where to find me." Konata said calmly with reassurance.

Kagami fought back her own tears. "Konata…thank you…"

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Standing outside her family's home, Kagami took a deep breath and began to walk forward. Feeling reassured by her earlier conversation with Konata, the twin-tailed girl felt she was strong enough to meet her family and admit she had a problem. She still took a deep breath and her bones cracked in anticipation as she walked forward and Kagami could hear voices inside as she placed her hand on the doorknob. She felt her blood run cold when she was able to hear her mother's angry voice say "heirlooms" but she still barely acknowledged that as a misdeed, though that was the drugs telling her that.

She pushed herself down the rabbit hole when she opened the door just as the withdrawal began to heat her brain with a surprise wave of resentment. The voices in the living room went quiet as she finally made it into the room, where she saw her entire family waiting for her. She saw her mother sitting on the sofa with red, puffy eyes and an angry expression. She saw her oldest sister Inori, also with an angry expression. She saw her youngest sister Tsukasa, this time with a hurt expression upon her face with even a hint of fear. She finally spotted her father sitting in his reclining chair, also with a hurt expression and to Kagami's surprise, a splinted cast on his right hand.

The withdrawal suddenly became worse for Kagami. Her paranoia resurfaced and tore throughout her psyche when she saw all the different expressions and eyes glued to her figure. Even though their lips weren't moving, Kagami was suddenly convinced she was hearing voices whisper to her. The awkward silence of the situation only made it worse and Kagami's brain began to create whispers and voices that weren't there in order to keep her from going insane, though little did she even know that the timer on that bomb was also ticking.

"Kagami? Please come in and sit down." Tadao said with disappointment.

Kagami quickly folded her arms across her chest, as if she was trying to wrap herself in a protective cocoon and her voice spat more hostility when she asked, "Why?"

"Because we need to talk." Inori suddenly snapped with obvious anger though she was trying her best to keep it under control.

"I can talk standing up." Kagami snapped back, hugging herself tighter.

"I don't care what she's doing as long as she listens." Miki added her angry voice to this melting pot of heating emotions. "Kagami…did you steal from us? Did you steal my family's most prized possessions and sell them for drug money?"

Kagami quickly lowered her head and glanced away in a futile attempt to buy time and look innocent. "What…what makes you ask something so stupid?"

"Because when we got home from the hospital last night after what you did to dad I found my purse was torn apart and scattered all over my floor." Inori said angrily with a frown.

"And all the money in my wallet was gone." Tadao added.

Kagami's breathing became shallow and the voices in her mind started to worsen. She began to form cold sweat and tremble, showing her family that she was guilty of stealing from them. Still, Kagami tried to maintain false innocence when she stuttered, "I…I…don't…I don't know what…you're talking about."

"Stop lying. Stop lying to us right now!" Miki shouted and stood, her eyes beginning to flood again. "Admit it, you stole my family heirlooms and probably sold them for drug money, didn't you?! I was saving them for you and your sisters! You stole from us! Your own family!"

Kagami's head suddenly shot up, showing her raging face. "I didn't steal your stupid shit! I came home because I know I made mistakes and I wanted to try and make it right but I don't have to take this from you!"

"Kagami! Look at what you're doing to us! Look what you did to your father!" Miki shot back and pointed to her injured husband. "You broke his hand and you've been stealing from us! When we got home from the hospital and you were gone, it took all night to get Tsukasa to stop crying! All she wants to do is help you but you keep doing these horrible things!"

The troubled twin-tailed girl quickly glanced at Tsukasa but abruptly looked away again when she was able to see how much she was hurting. Hearing the quarrel heat up again made Tsukasa's eyes flood with tears and her face became flushed as she quickly covered it. Hearing her sniffs sent daggers into Kagami's heart and soul and she suddenly felt conflicted. She never wanted to see her sister cry like this anymore, but at the same time couldn't convince herself that she didn't need the drugs to deal with her anguish.

She still barely felt any guilt for stealing her mother's prized possessions, yet continued to see and hear Matsuri and Misao and it gutted her. She also didn't want to admit this, but other voices continued to plague her thoughts and some were telling her that she murdered her sister and friend. This was still unknown to Kagami, but she wasn't mentally ready to face the consequences of her misdeeds. The drugs in her system were telling her to run and fuel her addiction for only they knew what was best for her, not her family or friends. Because of the substances, Kagami also viewed her theft as her own need-to-eat necessity, which justified her act so she felt angry with her mother for getting in the way with what Kagami felt were her life-sustaining nutrients.

Feeling her anger mount, Kagami quickly turned. "I don't have to take this fucking shit anymore!"

Miki and Tadao quickly pursued their daughter. Miki was the angriest as she chased Kagami up the stairs. "Kagami! Come back here right now, damn it!"

Tadao tried to act as the counterweight to his wife's anger. "Dear, please, remember what we said?! We need to get her help, not push her away!"

"But she stole my parents' heirlooms! They meant so much to me and I'm so angry!" Miki coughed and Kagami made her way to the bathroom.

Kagami dashed up the stairs and entered the bathroom, slammed the door on her mother's face, and quickly locked it. Miki pounded on the door and continued to scream her name but Kagami ignored her and made her way to the medicine cabinet. Breathing and trembling with immense anger and hatred, Kagami ripped the door open and eyed the bountiful treasure sitting on the small shelves. Several bottles of everyday pharmaceutical drugs for allergies and headaches sat before her and although they may not be able to carry the same punch as heroin or crack, Kagami's withdrawal was reaching sheer desperation.

She grabbed a bottle of aspirin and started to claw at the cap until she heard a pop come from the locked bathroom doorknob. The pop lock came out and the doorknob turned. Miki forced the door open and she held a small wooden reed in her hand that she pushed into the hole on the other side of the doorknob to unlock it. As soon as the two women locked eyes, Kagami quickly resumed trying to gain access to the aspirin until she finally ripped the cap off.

Miki charged forward and tackled her daughter just as she lifted the bottle up and readied to down all the contents inside. The white tablets scattered all across the floor and Kagami went into a screaming, thrashing rampage. She screamed endlessly for her mother to release her as Tadao also rushed in to assist his wife.

"Let me go you fuckers! I hate you! I hate you! I'm gonna fucking kill you! I need drugs! Get off me!" Kagami screamed as she thrashed and kicked relentlessly until she lost her balance and the two parents holding their troubled child fell to the floor with a crash.

"Kagami stop this!" Tadao cried as her daughter continued to kick her legs in the air.

"Give up! Give up you bastard!" Kagami screamed while still trying to wedge loose. "I don't want to be here! Let me go!"

As Kagami's meltdown persisted, Inori had to chase Tsukasa up the stairs as well and into her own room. Tsukasa's docile mind couldn't take the heat of the fight and she sought refuge in her bedroom closet. She threw herself into the dark and confined space and curled into a ball as she screamed and also cried in fright. Her world was collapsing around her and to see Kagami and her mother in such a gruesome feud was stealing every peaceful fiber of her being and her household. This would surely be a series of events that would stick with her for a long time. Inori continued to try and get her youngest sister to come out of the closet but she remained anchored in the secured space and basting in a pool of her own tears.

Kagami finally wedged free and launched herself to her feet as Miki and Tadao also stood and remained on guard for what the enraged girl would do next. Her eyes were blood-shot once again as she gritted her teeth and drooled like an angry animal. Despite the absence of a high, the drugs' lasting effects continued to hold a firm grip on Kagami and she still believed she was in danger if she stayed any longer in her family's home. Kagami quickly dashed out of the bathroom but was suddenly stopped by a familiar but still heartbreaking appearance.

Tsukasa came out of her closet and stood in front of her with a crying face focused upwards at Kagami. She held her two hands together and her thumbs twirled in fright as her knees shook while she also whimpered through her sobs. Tsukasa didn't know what to say or even how to act in front of this kind of entity that claimed to be her older fraternal twin, her mentor, and her idol. Kagami's glare however remained unchanged as she tried to suddenly maneuver past Tsukasa and head for the front door.

Still unable to give up on Kagami, Tsukasa turned as her sister bypassed her and reached for her hand. "Sis, I—"

In the blink of an eye, the rage that surged through Kagami's system because of the drugs boiled over. Voices snuck into her ear and every muscle in her body tightened when it sounded like little demons inside her were laughing at her for Matsuri's death and she felt the cold, scaly appendage of one of the demons latch onto her. Kagami blacked out. Her vision an endless shade of black, she suddenly heard a smack, followed by a thud, and gasps.

After what felt like hours, Kagami's vision began to clear again and she soon saw the scene before her. She was looking forward at her parents still standing in the bathroom doorway, though they now looked pale with expressions that painted a never-ending supply of horror. Kagami suddenly realized her right arm was outstretched and pointing outward and for an unknown reason, her palm was stinging like sunburn. A faint and low whimper was heard coming from below Kagami and it sounded like a frightened child. Kagami lowered her eyes and she felt her heart clench and her stomach do a back-flip when she saw the source.

Her fraternal twin in Tsukasa Hiiragi was curled in another ball on the floor and holding the left side of her face where a sweltering red mark was visible and in the shape of a human hand. Tsukasa was trembling with her eyes presenting infinite fear as they looked up at Kagami and bled the tears. Kagami had violently struck her own sister with such spiteful vigor. The guard dog had turned on the one it vowed to protect and silence fell upon the Hiiragi household. It was broken when Tsukasa finally looked away and started crying loudly again while holding her pulsing face.

Inori quickly brushed past Kagami and dropped to her knees to hug Tsukasa, as did Miki and Tadao. They tried their best to cease her crying by the traumatic event but something as horrible as this happening to a girl like her made it a herculean task. For the one she idolized and looked up to the most had viscously attacked her after all she knew how to show the attacker was unquestionable love. The full reality of what Kagami had just done to Tsukasa was beginning to seep in and she realized her life was a sinking ship and the water sinking her was the mental pain. She could only think of certain substances that would cork all the holes in her ship letting the water rush in.

Kagami turned and began to dash out of the house. No one called for her or begged her to stay. She made it out of her house without another problem. The guilt and the pain were beginning to flood her mind and eyes until she reached her breaking point. She arrived at a street corner and latched onto a telephone pole and slid to her knees. Kagami once again let it all out as she screamed and cried loudly while covering her face and fighting back the urge to vomit. The gruesome image of seeing Tsukasa crying on the floor continued to singe her entire mentality until she pulled herself to her feet. In Kagami's mind, she only had one other place to turn to.

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Yuka Miyakawa was more excited than her cousin Ryuji when Kagami returned to The Black Window. What made Miyakawa even more excited was when she saw nothing but complete and utter defeat and surrender in Kagami's tear-soaked eyes. In the twisted and perverted mind of the retail store worker who also worked as a drug dealer, stripper, and prostitute on the side, all her wishes were coming true. She wanted the former shrine maiden for herself from the moment she saw her and wasted no time in converting Kagami.

The twin-tailed girl decided to no longer fight it. She admitted that she was addicted to drugs, but wasn't mentally strong enough to give them up and deal with her issues on her own. The vice was there to bail her out. Once again, it buried all her pain when she started shooting heroin and smoking crack with Yuka and Ryuji. The drugs were regrettably the only thing that could put a smile back on Kagami's face. Seeing that Kagami had no more will to fight to keep her purity and righteousness, the two psychotic cousins wasted no time in taking advantage of it. Kagami accepted everything about them with no questions asked as they were the only ones that would give her the time of day. The thought of even going to Konata for help didn't even cross her mind as a result of the alienation from her family.

Furthering Kagami's plummet into a dark abyss, Miyakawa dressed her from head to toe in the same style the twin-tailed girl always expected to die first before she would ever sport the wardrobe. Kagami's purple ribbons dividing her hair into her trademark pigtails were replaced with skull hair clips while her hair itself was flushed of its once vibrant color and replaced with a shade of black as dark as a cold winter night sky. One of her pigtails was spared the black mutation but didn't get off scot-free. It was painted a dirty red like that of tainted blood, much like the liquid that flowed throughout Yuka Miyakawa's body. Kagami was also given a black and red top that covered most of her navel and was laced together in the back while two thin black straps held it up around the shoulders. She added a miniskirt that barely covered her private parts and was a black and red striped pattern across it. Her legs were covered with fishnet stockings and she sported black high heels.

Kagami could barely look at herself in the mirror inside The Black Window's dressing room. She was being played with and manipulated down a path of no return yet she had no more strength to fight it. Seeing that last look on Tsukasa's face sucked every ounce of her soul out of her body and she now felt like a hollow shell knowing that she was responsible for that. All she wanted was to forget all of it and try to move on with her life as best as she could, though she could only live "happily" for a few hours until she needed another injection or smoke. Kagami knew that even though the highs she got from heroin and crack cocaine was keeping her ship afloat, a day would soon come where her body would build up immunities to the drugs and she would need to search for a new high.

When The Black Window closed later that night, Kagami's initiation party continued at Miyakawa's apartment. The location was a dark and decrepit cesspit of unimaginable horrors that one could only comprehend in a drug-induced nightmare. Little did Kagami know that that was exactly what she was now a part of. The apartment was a small one bed one bath layout with a living room that resembled a gothic temple. So many decorations that included human skulls and bones, graphic artwork on the walls, black tattered curtains covering the windows, and a surround sound system where only the darkest of music was played.

As the three people sat in a circle next to Miyakawa's coffee table that held all the drugs, Kagami lowered a crack pipe away from her mouth and blew out a cloud of the toxic smoke. Her eyes were red as she was sweating profusely and she dropped the glass pipe as the next high took control of her body. It erased the slapping incident with Tsukasa earlier and she felt better about herself as she stood and wobbled in her new shoes.

Like a vulture circling over its prey, Miyakawa grinned darkly and stood from the floor. She slowly walked towards the numbed Kagami and gently wrapped her arms around the twin-tailed girl's flat stomach and pulled her close. Miyakawa pressed her face into Kagami's hair and breathed in her fragrance and cracked a teeth-bearing smile.

"Hey you," she whispered into Kagami's ear. "I never got the chance to tell you…but you look so sexy in those clothes. It's a shame you have them on…because I have an urge to rip them off you. Let me ask you something. Have you ever kissed another girl before?"

Kagami's eyes remained sad and lifeless as the other girl tried to seduce her. She could only grunt and groan in the surreal haze she was lost in, barely understanding what Miyakawa was trying to do.

"Well then…let me know what you think about this…" Miyakawa whispered and guided Kagami's face to look at her.

Miyakawa lowered her lips and connected them with Kagami's and kissed her gently. The psychotic girl tried to pry further into Kagami's mouth but she began to encounter resistance from the intimate contact while she continued to sniff Kagami's natural aroma. When her gesture was complete, Kagami slowly resisted again.

"…Don't…" Kagami whispered weakly when she pulled out of the kiss and wobbled back towards Ryuji who also sat and was smoking a cigarette.

Miyakawa allowed her to go while she kept her sinister smirk. "Okay, sweetheart. I won't do anything…tonight. But one night…I'll have you all to myself."

Kagami sat down again, not able to clearly comprehend her first kiss with Yuka Miyakawa. It took several attempt for her to find her voice that was buried underneath her high but she finally managed to say, "I…I'm in…"

Ryuji shot her a puzzled look but was smiling inside. He played dumb to get Kagami to say the magical words when he retorted, "In what?"

"Don't fuck with me, Ryuji. I know that all these drugs come from somewhere and that you're in the business. I want in. No matter what it takes I'll do it, as long as you can promise me that I'll always be able to stay high forever." Kagami sharply replied.

Ryuji finally smiled and he extinguished his cigarette in an ashtray. "Be careful what you say, Kagami. If you want in, you're going to have to work…and that means a different kind of work than what may be considered mainstream."

Kagami slowly lifted her head and showed her crying eyes to Ryuji. "Did you ask me to be careful what I say, Ryuji? I am careful with what I say now. I have been ever since I told my sister to drop dead during our fight and then she died in the crash. I know exactly what I'm saying and I know exactly what I'm getting into."

"Do you? If you want your drugs, you'll have to steal from the ones you love and the ones you don't even know in addition to doing things to yourself. Everything in this world has a price tag, Kagami, even your own body." Ryuji said. "If you want to go all in, listen to me…and listen to Yuka. Do whatever she tells you…or whoever she tells you. If you're willing to do all of this, then we'll let you in. Of course, I'm still obligated to let you walk away if you so choose. If you're not willing to fraud and fuck…there's the door."

Ryuji offered Yuka's apartment door as the one and only escape out of the newfound desired lifestyle. It didn't take long for Kagami to reach her decision until she slowly looked up from the floor.

Keeping her look of defeat alive, a single tear fell from her eyes and splashed on the floor when she replied, "I'll do whatever it takes. I'm your property now…"


	14. Chapter 14

CHAPTER 13

As horrifying as their last encounter was with Kagami, the Hiiragi family didn't expect to feel even worse when she didn't come home that night, or the next, or the next. By the third day, Kagami was still missing and no one had seen or heard from her since the family battle. To make everyone feel better, the family contacted the police to report Kagami as a missing person. Unfortunately for them, there wasn't much they could do because Kagami was a legal adult and was free to simply leave and never come back if she wanted. Miki took it upon herself and made an appointment with a therapist after they went through the process with the police and Tsukasa started another meltdown when she heard of the possibility that Kagami may never come home. Despite the fact that Kagami had broken her promise to Tsukasa, stole from the family, and even assaulted her, the only thing that was on Tsukasa's mind was getting her big sister back.

The Hiiragi family minus two members sat and waited outside of the therapist's office in a rather upscale and luxurious building. Soft and relaxing music was playing over the speakers hanging from the walls, a few small tranquility water fountains were sitting on tables and desks, and a single receptionist was busy typing on her computer behind her desk while the fractured family waited to be called. It was clear that the doctor in charge of this practice cared deeply about their patients and their number one priority was to help them.

In a typical setup with an entire family visiting, there was usually at least one member who didn't want to be there or didn't believe in the concept of therapy. Their solutions usually included ignoring the problem until it got better on its own or simply kicked the reason for them being in therapy to the curb. Thankfully, that wasn't the case for Miki, Tadao, Inori, or Tsukasa. They were all there on a mission; to learn how to properly corral the troubled and disturbed Kagami back into their lives so they could help her. It was Tsukasa's unyielding innocence and desire to get Kagami back despite what she did to her that persuaded everyone else not to give up.

The phone on the receptionist's desk began ringing and she answered it. She complied with the orders spoken to her and when she hung up the phone, she turned to the family. "Dr. Kishimoto will see you now."

The family stood and walked through the building and followed the signs guiding them to the therapist's office. Despite the harmonious acoustics that were created in the waiting room, the family, especially Tsukasa, was nervous. This was a whole new experience for them and they wished that they could say it was built on better conditions. They never would've suspected it would be them that would find themselves in family counseling one day as a result of the death of one of their own, followed by the mental tailspin of another.

When the family arrived at an office door, they saw it was open with Dr. Kishimoto's name on it in a gold plaque. Tadao took the initiative and knocked on the door when he peered in and saw a woman sitting in an office chair dressed in professional attire while writing notes as she stared at them through her glasses. The knock caught her attention and she looked up with a smile on her face and delicate facial features. Tsukasa's heart was warmed in an instant as this doctor had striking features similar to both Miyuki Takara and her own mother combined. She had a face that gave off a maternal sense with long hair tied behind her head in a ponytail. The large desk behind her held pictures of her with a man at various vacation spots, which they assumed was her husband. Her voice was soft and chimed like a bell.

"Hiiragi?" She asked with an even softer voice as she stopped writing.

"That's us." Tadao replied.

She deepened her smile and stood for them. She bowed before replying, "It's a pleasure to finally meet you. My name is Kishimoto Nagisa. I've heard so much about your situation and please, let me first express my deepest sympathies to your whole family regarding your middle child, Matsuri. I know how hard it is to lose someone and to know the horrors of drug use so I truly share your pain."

When the Hiiragi family rose from their complementing bow, Miki added softly, "Thank you. It has been a very trying time thus far."

Dr. Kishimoto nodded and closed her office door for privacy while the Hiiragi family sat down on the long sofa in front of them. The therapist sat down in front of them again and crossed her legs to create an improvised table for her notepad. With all the formalities established, Dr. Kishimoto readied herself to take notes.

"Now, let me first start with you, Miki-san, since you decided to take the initiative and call me." Dr. Kishimoto began. "Please tell me why we're meeting today and what I can do for you and your family."

Miki nodded and cleared her throat. "Well first off, thank you again for seeing us. We've been having some family issues behind closed doors that have mutated to the point where we can't solve them on our own. As I told you on the phone, I had four daughters and two of them have a history of not getting along that well and they are Kagami and Matsuri. Kagami and my youngest Tsukasa graduated high school over a month ago and Kagami attended a party with a friend where there was heavy drinking. Kagami came home drunk and it made Matsuri mad because she had an incident of drinking that manifested into an…adult act…and she didn't want Kagami to go down the same path. They had a fight and Kagami said some very mean things to Matsuri, which made her take a drive to cool off and that's when she died in the accident."

Dr. Kishimoto continued to write Miki's words.

"After that, Kagami's friend was murdered in a freak occurrence and she's been abusing drugs to deal with the pain. She's been acting irrational and even violent. She broke my husband's hand and even stole very valuable artifacts from my side of the family and sold them for drug money." Miki continued. "A few days ago she came home and I do believe she wanted to make amends but at the same time didn't want to give up the drugs. It led to us confronting her on her stealing and she snapped. She tried to swallow an entire bottle of aspirin and even slapped her sister, Tsukasa."

Tsukasa lowered her head in shame, still convinced that she was to blame for all of Kagami's behavior. Because she was the closest to Kagami, she felt that she would've been able to help her before either the rest of her family or even a psychologist. Sitting in this office wasn't helping her self-esteem either but she did know how important this session was to her mother so she complied. It was also Dr. Kishimoto's soft and maternal-like aroma that kept Tsukasa alive in the conversation instead of withdrawing into her own corner.

"I see…and what was Kagami like _before_ that tragic accident and subsequent murder?" Dr. Kishimoto asked.

"She was an angel." Tadao added. "She was a straight-A student, she was involved in so many extracurricular activities, she was popular, had a great group of friends, and she was a great sister and daughter. Everything about her was perfect. I know we all say that no one is perfect but Kagami was as close to it as one could get."

Dr. Kishimoto continued to write. "That's very nice to hear. So you're saying that Kagami is acting this way because she feels guilty about Matsuri and her friend?"

The family nodded.

"Is there any other reason why she may be acting this way?" Dr. Kishimoto asked.

"Isn't that enough?" Inori suddenly snapped but instantly regretted it. "I apologize. It's just that…Matsuri and I were very close and when she died and when Kagami began all of this…it's just become so hard…"

Inori was the first one to tear up, prompting the doctor to reach towards her desk and grab a box of tissues. She handed the box to Inori while replying, "It's okay, my dear. You've suffered a horrible loss but I'm going to try and help you through it. Now, I was speculating on the idea that there could be another issue that Kagami may be hiding or simply unaware that it's contributing to her drug usage. Can you think of anything?"

The Hiiragi family exchanged looks with each other and Miki spoke again. "We can't think of anything else. Kagami is the type of girl who would tell us if something was bothering her. I mean, she just graduated high school and she was happy."

Tsukasa began to shift her eyes back and forth while twirling her fingers. She had something on her mind that she wanted to say but her nerves were keeping her silent. The youngest Hiiragi daughter tried to send her own signals to show she wanted to talk but they remained unseen to them.

"I mean, Kagami was always complaining about her weight but that was something none of us could understand." Tadao added. "She and her sister and friends even performed this incredible cheerleading routine for their school's festival and you should've seen them. They were magnificent up on stage so I could never understand where the weight problem with her came from."

"She did say something about not having a boyfriend…" Inori speculated, drawing attention. "I remember her saying something about not being able to trigger any flags…or at least that's what her one friend was always talking about. You know, the blue-haired one."

"Um…excuse me…" Tsukasa whimpered loud enough to redirect attention to her. "But sis was talking to me a few weeks before our graduation about college and…how she was scared…"

This was news for the rest of the Hiiragi family and Miki was fully involved in it now. "What did she say, dear?"

Tsukasa's eyes continued to tremble in their sockets as her nerves were clearly getting the best of her. She struggled to make eye contact with the strange doctor despite that she continued to give off a peaceful and welcoming vibe. The youngest Hiiragi twin continued to try and talk until everyone could see that it was going to be a futile effort. Dr. Kishimoto however could see the nervous little girl in her eyes and she could only smile and release a small giggle.

"Hold that thought for a moment, Tsukasa-chan." Dr. Kishimoto said sweetly and stood from her chair and walked to a wooden chest and opened it. She fished around until she pulled out a small stuffed plush puppy.

The psychologist turned back to Tsukasa and allowed her to take it and the youngest Hiiragi twin wasted no time in snatching it and hugged it to her chest. Dr. Kishimoto smiled and giggled lightly again and sat back in her chair as the rest of Tsukasa's family continued to watch with intrigue.

"Now Tsukasa-chan, my dear, that puppy you hold is also very sad and has a lot on his mind and I think you might have a lot in common with him." Dr. Kishimoto said with a smile. "He also has a big sister that has been hurting a lot recently and I believe for many of the same reasons. I believe you know what that puppy wants to say so please Tsukasa-chan, tell us what you think is on his little canine mind."

Tsukasa held the stuffed dog closer and gulped. Taking a deep breath, Tsukasa began to relax and respond. "The puppy's older sister…is also sad…like me. The puppy's sister…she always wants to be the best…and also set a good example for him…but it…it sometimes makes the puppy's sister…sad. The puppy's sister…she wants to make everyone proud and to work hard…but it gets to her sometimes. She…she feels the pressure and…sets high expectations for herself. Whenever she fell short of one…she didn't know how to deal with it…and she was very hard on herself. She…she would confide in…this puppy at night sometimes. She would say that she's having second thoughts on…everything. About college…about careers…about life. The puppy's sister…she would cry sometimes…and it would also make the puppy sad. The puppy…he loves his big sister so much. He wanted to help…but didn't know how. The puppy's sister…she was always the one with all the answers…but when she started coming to the puppy with questions that he couldn't answer for her…it made the puppy even more sad. Now…the puppy's sister is…is…"

That was all Tsukasa could communicate through the transitional object until it came too close to home. She quickly hid her face from the setting and held the stuffed puppy to her head to hide her tears. Her family was beginning to see the root of Kagami's problems. The weight of the world was closing in on her, which made her constrict inside so she felt she needed a release somehow, which led to her decision to go to the party. Matsuri's subsequent treatment of Kagami added to her paranoid belief that she wasn't ready to tackle the weight of the world, which led to her fight with her that ultimately cost Matsuri her life. Kagami's guilt only became another hurricane cloud that collided with her already existing storm of stress to create one giant maelstrom of horrors. Misao's death only furthered the daunting torture that Kagami had to endure and it was after her demise that the twin-tailed girl was convinced she wasn't strong enough and needed help to deal with the pain. That's when Ryuji came in for her.

While the rest of Tsukasa's family was comforting her, Dr. Kishimoto continued to write her notes with a small smile on her face until she finished and once again replied in her delicate voice that kept Tsukasa calm. "Tsukasa-chan…did your big sister ever talk to you and say that she was scared or sad or depressed, just like the puppy's sister did?"

Tsukasa nodded quickly. "We…we would stay up late at night sometimes…and sis would be depressed and look to me for comfort. I…I wanted to help her…but I didn't know how. I…I felt so useless. Kagami…she's out there because I couldn't help her…"

Miki hugged Tsukasa closely and kissed the top of her head as both of them struggled to hold in their tears. Inori offered her tissue box to them and they both wasted no time in taking the white sheets and vented their shattered emotions into them.

"Well it appears to me that Kagami's problems go further back than just her fight with her sister and the tragic events that followed. Let me ask another question and this is an open floor question so everybody's opinion is important. Would anyone consider Kagami as a prideful girl or someone who would want to be an overachiever?" Dr. Kishimoto asked.

No one really knew what to make of the question and the family exchanged confused looks with each other until Tadao answered first. "Well, uh, Kagami always put her studies ahead of everything else and always strived for greatness but I wouldn't go so far as to call her prideful or an overachiever."

Miki however disagreed. "I'm afraid I have to say otherwise, dear. When Kagami and Tsukasa were children, I remember Kagami always lecturing Tsukasa on doing well in school. I remember that's when Tsukasa really started to look up to Kagami and she would always look prideful but only when Kagami was always complimented by Tsukasa."

"But she never rubbed it in Tsukasa's face…" Tadao added and turned to his youngest. "Did she, Tsukasa?"

Tsukasa glanced away and held the stuffed puppy tighter. "Not…not really. She…she would show off her grades to Kona-chan every now and then."

Dr. Kishimoto hummed with curiosity while writing, catching their attention. "It's beginning to make sense to me now. I believe that Kagami may have a very mild but still existent case of Dependent Personality Disorder. It's a personality disorder that can range from very mild to full-blown but from what I've been hearing, it's very mild in Kagami's case but sometimes that's all she needs for it to metastasize. I believe that Kagami is a type of girl that _needs_ people to know that she's doing well and that she's making everyone proud in order for her to garner strength. That's what makes her study and work so hard; so that she'll be constantly reminded of how good of a person she is because without a never-ending show of affection, she would become an emotional wreck. It would explain her determination to get good grades and all her extracurricular involvement. She needed constant validation and approval. What Tsukasa-chan told us earlier is very important. Kagami was confiding in her for a long time because she would be going to college soon. A whole new world where no one would know her or even care if she was doing well in school or not and she would be all alone, so she felt that without the security blanket she would get from her friends and family, she would fail. It was constricting for her so she believed that if she went to that party with her friend, it may have numbed her fears and she wouldn't be afraid but when she came home and got in that fight with her sister, it only furthered Kagami's fears that she wouldn't be able to tackle the world without her friends and family so she got angry. Matsuri's death, as well as her friend's death took away from her security blanket and added to her fears and guilt and she became convinced that she was a hollow shell beneath her hard and confident exterior."

The Hiiragi family gulped upon hearing Dr. Kishimoto's hypothesis. It sounded grim and irreversible but Miki still refused to admit defeat. "Is…is there anything we can do to help her?"

Dr. Kishimoto nodded. "Yes, we can help her and even save her, but it won't be easy. What I need more than anything is for you to find Kagami first and even try to convince her to see me so I can give her a fair psychological assessment. If I determine that she is a threat to either herself or society, I would be able to make a recommendation to the court system and Kagami would be detained and placed under psychiatric watch, maybe even institutionalized."

The Hiiragi family shot glares of contempt at Dr. Kishimoto. Inori vocalized the question all four of them were thinking and asked, "Institutionalized? What does that mean, like an insane asylum?"

Dr. Kishimoto nodded with remorse. "Yes but we don't call them that anymore. It's the politics of discourse. We believe that terms like 'insane' or 'asylum' or even 'nuthouse' don't help an already stressful situation and they add stigma to the sick and their families."

The Hiiragi family remained deafly quiet in this session. They couldn't believe that it had already come to this and how quickly it happened. They felt so ashamed that they missed so many warning signs. Tsukasa felt the worst because of how much Kagami meant to her and to even think of seeing Kagami in a psychiatric hospital drove a dagger into her heart. Because of all the years of experience Dr. Nagisa Kishimoto had with situations like these, she knew what to say to reassure Kagami's family.

"Of course, you are under no legal obligations right now. Everything we've said and talked about is classified and will _never_ leave this office. I'm merely giving suggestions and you are free to take them or find alternatives." She informed calmly. "I still would like the opportunity to sit down and talk with Kagami, if nothing else and don't forget, everything I said is merely a hypothesis and not a diagnosis. Kagami may just need a few therapy sessions so I can talk to her and even teach her better coping methods to deal with her losses and not have to resort to drugs. I cannot even begin to tell you how many times I've encountered people who would choose drugs over food and water to survive and they're now living regular, drug-free lives and even have successful careers and marriages."

The Hiiragi family continued to exchange ideas and stories with Dr. Kishimoto until the session was up and the family decided they wanted to keep seeing her. Dr. Kishimoto happily setup weekly appointments for them until they felt they got what they needed out of her time. At the end of their appointment, Tsukasa tried to give the stuffed puppy back to her but she simply smiled and shook her head. She wanted Tsukasa to hold onto it for her, which Tsukasa happily complied with. The transitional object, which was usually reserved for child psychology, worked wonders for Tsukasa's pure and innocent mind and it allowed the family to leave the therapeutic session on a high note.

When the Hiiragi family left however, Dr. Kishimoto asked her receptionist to hold her next appointment so she could have a moment to herself. The doctor retired to the bathroom and splashed some water on her face and she fought back her own emotions. Dr. Kishimoto had some demons of her own behind closed doors and she revealed it when she rolled up the sleeve of her left arm. It revealed old wounds. Several black, blue, and green marks on her veins illustrated her past life before she was able to find herself and put her way through school and become a psychologist.

She sighed deeply and as she recovered her collapsed veins, she whispered, "I hope I can save this girl. Heroin is a horrible, horrible thing."

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Despite the dreadful situation her friend was in, Miyuki Takara was still able to see the beauty in the day she stepped out into in her upscale neighborhood. It was once again another beautiful summer day and the peaceful sounds of its existence were able to flow into Miyuki's body and warm her already affectionate soul. The pink-haired girl took a deep breath as the cicadas sang from the trees and she looked at her watch. Today she was planning on spending some time with a childhood friend before she would make her incredible trek into France to begin her medical studies.

Miyuki exited the front gate of her large house and smiled when she saw her friend, Minami Iwasaki standing on the other side of the road with her dog Cherry on its leash and ready to go for a walk. Miyuki walked across the street and joined Minami on the other side, who held her usual small but still sincere smile and the two friends began walking down the street with the nearby park as their destination in mind. Cherry walked ahead of them on its leash while Miyuki and Minami were able to converse.

"So are you nervous about going all the way to France, Miyuki?" Minami asked softly.

Miyuki giggled. "I suppose I am, but I expect that's normal. It's a fear of the unknown more than anything. I have been practicing my French quite a bit and I believe that I'm becoming quite good at it."

"Let me hear some then." Minami replied with a smile.

Miyuki instantly blushed. "Oh dear, please don't make me nervous, Mi-chan. Practicing my French in public…it's so embarrassing."

Minami replied with her own small giggle. "I'm sure you'll be fine. You were always so great in school so I don't think you'll have any problems abroad."

"I hope you're right. So what is new with you, Minami?" Miyuki asked with sincerity.

Minami's expression of complacence was suddenly wiped away and replaced with a look of worriment. "Well, actually I was hoping for advice on something. Yutaka has been calling me every day for the past few days and she's very upset about her cousin. It seems that Izumi-san was able to confront Kagami-san on the street a few days ago and she promised Izumi-san that she was going to get better. From what I heard, there was a fight at the Hiiragi household and Kagami-san has been missing. Yutaka has been telling me that Konata is a nervous wreck now."

"Oh dear," Miyuki sighed with remorse. "What a horrible string of tragedies a family like that had to endure. Life is so unfair because they didn't deserve any of that. I feel so bad for all of them. I can only imagine what this is doing to Konata-san. She and Kagami-san are so very close after all."

Minami nodded. "This thing with Kagami-san is starting to hurt me as well because it hurts Izumi-san, which hurts Yutaka, which hurts me. I want to be there for Yutaka but what could I possibly say to her that would make all of this go away?"

Miyuki sighed again. "I wish I could tell you that there are magical words that would take all of their worriment and pain away, but there simply isn't, Minami. The only thing you can do for Yutaka is always be there for her whenever this horrible issue with Kagami-san hits too close to her. I worry a lot about Konata-san, too. She doesn't really seem to have a lot of…well…how do I put this…? She doesn't really seem to have a lot of…mainstream friends…but Kagami-san was always there for her. I wonder how much this will affect Konata-san if this keeps going downhill for Kagami-san."

Minami shook her head. "I guess we both will have to take your advice, Miyuki. All we can do is simply be there for them and let them confide in us whenever they have to. I know that Yutaka was always a good person to talk to whenever I was feeling down because she never judged me for being quiet in school. I really want to return the favor."

Miyuki nodded. "I understand, Mi-chan. You're a good friend and Yutaka-chan is too."

The two friends rounded a corner and were suddenly startled when they saw a police car with its lights flashing and a police officer was talking to a man who owned another upscale home in the luxurious neighborhood and they were talking in front of the citizen's expensive sports car. As the two friends continued to walk past the house on the other side of the street, they saw the man's sports car was broken into as the shattered window illustrated. It was clear that a burglar broke into the car and they overheard the police man recite in his notes that the car's stereo was stolen, as well as a few other personal belongings from the vehicle.

"That's strange." Minami said as the two friends walked past the crime scene. "That's the third car broken into in as many nights. I believe we're in the middle of a crime wave."

Miyuki sighed once again as the amount of dark reality the world had to offer was piling up. All she could ask was, "What is this world coming to?"


	15. Chapter 15

CHAPTER 14

On this hot moonless night in the neighborhood of Miyuki Takara and Minami Iwasaki, three young criminals dressed in their traditional black attire eyed another expensive luxury car sitting in front of another large house. Two of them were girls with crowbars and they dashed through the night and took up positions behind the car and watched their male leader get into position behind a large iron fence lined with shrubbery near the gate, also with a crowbar and all of them wearing ski masks. With his female counterparts ready for action, he turned to them and nodded.

The more confident of the two girls nodded back and slowly stood. She tightened her grip on her crowbar, raised it high, and swung it downward. The metal tool smashed through the driver's window, triggering the car alarm and sending the vehicle into a noisy fit as the headlights also flashed. It didn't detour the two girls as the female leader unlocked the door and opened it, allowing her partner to climb in.

The masked girl inside the car was breathing hard and trembling ferociously as she drove her crowbar into the screaming car's built-in GPS and began to dig it in further to try and pry it out. Her adrenaline was surging and her sweat was trickling down her face and soaking into her black ski mask, both from the fear and the approaching withdrawal. She needed more drugs and was committing herself to a life of crime to get them.

The front porch lights of the large house suddenly came on and the front door opened. A middle-aged man was tying his robe together as he looked into the darkness and saw the two girls trying to vandalize and steal from his expensive car.

"Hey you damn kids! Get the fuck out of my car!" He yelled from his open door.

The girl outside the car hissed, "Don't listen to that asshole. You're doing great baby so keep going. Ryuji's watching over us."

The girl trying to dig the GPS out nodded and continued to pull it further out, enraging the owner. As his wife from inside exclaimed she was calling the police, he decided to take matters into his own hands. The enraged owner unlocked the gate of his fence that was lined with tall shrubs and stepped out into the open. The male leader of the girls suddenly appeared in a flash like a lightning bolt and reared his crowbar. He thrust it forward and the metal tool struck the owner across the head and he fell like a lead weight.

That didn't stop the male leader however. He continued to hammer down on the man's head with the crowbar over and over again, even when the piercing screams of his terrified wife erupted from the doorframe. He just kept hitting him relentlessly, even when the man stopped moving and breathing altogether. The girl trying to pull the GPS out shuddered with each strike of metal to bone and released a fresh tear with each heartbreaking sound.

She was finally able to pull the GPS out and her partner cut the wires holding it in and they stashed it in a bag. They wanted to keep searching the car for more treasures but the sudden sound of police car sirens told them they needed to go. The male leader reached down into the lifeless man's mouth and started pulling until he was able to secure something he sought and joined his two female counterparts as they ran down the street, the sound of the screaming woman still echoing across the neighborhood and triggering more surrounding homes to turn on their lights.

The three criminals dove into their dark van and the male hopped into the driver's seat, started it, and floored it as the police cars neared the scene of the crime. Once again, they were able to flee the scene as the two girls unmasked themselves. Yuka Miyakawa ripped her mask off and breathed deep and sighed with a relaxing demeanor while her partner Kagami Hiiragi took her mask off, showing a look of pure terror. She trembled and cried as a result of her fear of the situation she was a part of.

As she hugged herself tightly in the back of the van, Miyakawa turned her head to her cousin driving the van and hissed, "Did you get it for me?"

Ryuji dug into his jacket pocket and pulled out a small object and flicked it over his shoulder as he drove. Miyakawa caught it with a smile while Ryuji said, "Keep the change."

Miyakawa giggled and she opened her hand, revealing that she was holding a blood-soaked human tooth. She picked it up with her other hand and held it to her face with a smile. "How lovely…it'll make a beautiful addition to my collection." She said with her own teeth-bearing grin.

Miyakawa spotted a small puddle of blood from the tooth in her hand, deepening her satisfaction and she lowered her face to it. She ran her tongue against her hand, mopping up the blood and Kagami watched with repugnance as Miyakawa savored the flavor and swallowed the red liquid. She chuckled once again after she breathed out, as if she had the privilege of dining on a five-star meal.

"Delicious…as always." She whispered with a smile and turned back to Kagami. "You did great, baby. You're getting much better at this. We might have to put you on guard next time instead of Ryuji."

Kagami rested her forehead on her two kneecaps as she continued to hug herself tight. She whimpered in a frightened voice, "I just want the cash. That's all. I just want my fix and to go to sleep."

Keeping her bitter smile, Miyakawa scooted closer and wrapped her snake-like arms around Kagami and pulled her close, making Kagami shiver in fear. "Now, now, my precious little Kagami. There's more to our lives than just the stealing and the drugs. We all like to have…company…every now and then. I know how stressful a heist can be…so what do you say we help ourselves relieve our stress? I knew you were cute from the very instant I saw you. It's a nice open van back here and Ryuji won't bother us since he's driving. What do you say? I'll let you taste me if you let me taste you…"

Kagami quickly lifted her head and saw Miyakawa's face only inches away from hers, ready to kiss her again. The twin-tailed girl didn't remember her first kiss with the sinister sociopath, so this was a new experience for her and she quickly began to squirm out of Miyakawa's grip and shuffled away.

"Mi…Miyakawa…" Kagami began with clear fright in her voice. "I…I don't want to do those…perverted things…especially with you. You're…you're a girl…"

To her surprise and fright, Miyakawa giggled. "Do you have a problem with girls who like other girls?"

Kagami quickly shook her head. "No, no, it's not like that. It's just that…I like guys."

"So do I." Miyakawa stated, drawing more confusion from Kagami. "Life's too short to be choosey. Once you let yourself go and become one with your desires and fantasies, it opens up a whole new world for you."

Kagami held herself tighter. "I…I don't want to do those…things."

Miyakawa shot a look at her cousin, who was looking back at her through the rearview mirror. He nodded to her and Miyakawa nodded back and using their body language, they began to manipulate Kagami again. Ryuji suddenly slammed on the brakes, bringing the van to a screeching halt and knocking Kagami forward. Miyakawa opened the sliding door, grabbed Kagami by her top, and threw her out of the van and she landed with a hard crash on the cold street. Miyakawa dropped the bag containing the stolen GPS next to Kagami.

"Like we said before, Kagami, if you're not willing to not only steal but also sell yourself for what you want, then you're no good to us." Miyakawa snapped. "I've been doing this since I was young and I've done every single perverted thing you could think of and things you _never_ would be able to think of. We all pitch in and put in the work for our cut of the money and drugs. If you're not willing, then we'll leave you here for the cops to pick up along with that stolen GPS."

Kagami quickly stood and tried to remain calm. "I'll just tell them about you and maintain my innocence!"

"Who do you think they'll believe, Kagami? They already know you stole from your own family. Your own mother of all people. Let me tell you something, Kagami, I once fucked seven guys at the same time after I beat an old woman to death on the street trying to steal her ruby necklace and I would _never_ steal from _my _mother." Miyakawa bit back in a convincing act. "You're evil, Kagami. You're garbage. We're all you have left whether you like it or not so without us, you lose everything. You lose your drugs, your shelter, your friends, maybe even your life."

"And what would that little sister of yours think if the cops picked you up with a stolen GPS from a dead man's car and dressed the way you are?!" Ryuji added as he pointed out Kagami's revealing outfit courteously of Miyakawa. "I'd be willing to bet your own baby sister would turn on you in an instant when she saw what you've become. Like Yuka said, you're nothing but pure garbage so we're the only ones in the world who will look after you!"

Kagami's only defense was stripped away from her in an instant and her paranoia began returning. As she was ready to cry, she heard another police car siren nearby, sealing the deal for her. She dropped more tears until she whimpered, "Okay…I'll do it. I'll…I'll sell myself."

Miyakawa grinned again. "Get the GPS and get back in."

Kagami complied and when she brought the stolen electronic back into the van, Miyakawa grabbed Kagami by her top, dragged her in, and slammed the door shut. Ryuji started driving again as Kagami continued crying, making Miyakawa smile with growing lust. She once again pulled the trembling and frightened Kagami close.

"It'll be okay, my precious little jewel. It'll hurt at first but after your first time, selling yourself will be the only thing on your mind." Miyakawa whispered and placed her hand on Kagami's cheek. "Let me start teaching you now. We'll start with…the proper kiss."

Before Kagami could object, Miyakawa pinned Kagami to the floor of the van and kissed her deeply. The twin-tailed girl squealed and resisted with her enlarged eyes but Miyakawa continued to dig deeper into Kagami's mouth while massaging her chest. More tears flowed out of Kagami's eyes as she felt she was being violated and Miyakawa eventually pulled out of the kiss and continued to hold her frightened prey down.

Grinning again, Miyakawa gently rubbed Kagami's crying face. "You're so cute when you're scared, Kagami. Don't worry sweetheart. I love you. I'll be the one who will _always_ love you. I'm the only family you need now. Forget about those pathetic shits you call your parents and sisters."

Kagami sniffed while she cried. "Mi…Miyakawa…"

Miyakawa gently wiped a tear away from Kagami's face with her thumb. "I told you before, Kagami. Call me Yuka. I'm not only your family…I'll also be your one and only sister…forever."

Kagami still quivered in fear with her mind being twisted and perverted by Yuka Miyakawa. The female thief and sociopath Miyakawa hugged Kagami close and began to whisper her own version of a lullaby to Kagami.

"Give your soul to me for eternity, release your life to begin another time with me, end your grief with me, there's another way, release your life and take your place inside the fire with me…"

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The three criminals were able to sell the stolen GPS to the same pawn shop where Kagami first offloaded her mother's heirlooms. It provided a full day of staying inside and smoking crack, shooting heroin, and even snorting cocaine. Kagami did more drugs than usual to try and forget the inevitable new job she was to start tonight. She savored every second of peace the drugs gave her, though they were barely able to take the edge off the stress and fear she was feeling about her newfound career.

To make Kagami feel more involved in the underground workings of Yuka Miyakawa and Ryuji Katsumoto, they divulged every detail to her on who they were and what they did. Up until then, they only let her tagalong as a thief to test her loyalty. Now that it seemed that Kagami was serious about becoming a prostitute despite her spoken reluctance, they decided it was time for them to fully involve her. Yuka Miyakawa wasted no time in taking the lead and making Kagami sink further into her world.

She told Kagami all about the connection between her, her cousin, the pawn shop, and the strip club across the street known as Teasers. Ryuji was arrested several years ago for petty theft that led to assaulting a police officer and damaging of private property, a sentence that got him eighteen months in prison. While he was in prison, he met a man named Itou Shiraki who was serving time for solicitation of a prostitute and drug possession. However, Itou Shiraki's record was a lot deeper than a few joint sticks and an insatiable lust for women. He ran a strip club called Teasers that met all the legal requirements on the surface, but it was what happened after hours that broke all the laws, both written and unwritten. He ran a deep prostitution ring, which was even coordinated and managed by none other than Yuka Miyakawa herself.

She started working for him when she was fifteen years old by dancing, though she was spoiled and corrupted long before that. Yuka Miyakawa was a girl who lost her virginity at age nine and was on her own by age eleven and was a warrior of the streets by thirteen. She even mastered the arts of fake IDs, which was how she got the job at Teasers to begin with, though Itou Shiraki knew she was underage but didn't care, thus illustrating the kind of man he is. Starting the prostitution ring was even Miyakawa's idea, which presented a double-edged sword for Itou Shiraki when he got out of prison and resumed his work. Though the prostitution ring brought in the cash, it was hard to find dancers willing to go the extra mile as most just wanted to show off their bodies and lived by the principle "looking, no touching." What made it more difficult was the fact that Yuka Miyakawa got into the habit of scaring off some of the other dancers with her insatiable sexual appetites and creepy tastes in fetishes, one of which resulted in the death of another dancer, forcing Itou Shiraki to dispose of her body and cover it up.

One customer had a fetish for pain and blood, making him Yuka Miyakawa's new favorite customer. Miyakawa coordinated an act with a dancer where they would kiss each other until they would cut each other's palms and drink the blood, though as soon as Miyakawa got her taste, she went insane with power and lust. She ended up holding the screaming dancer down and she sliced her throat open, giving her an endless supply of blood. Needless to say, Yuka Miyakawa also had to kill the customer, giving Itou Shiraki twice the migraine but he still kept her around because he honestly believed that there wasn't another girl alive that was as depraved and willing to do literally anything sexual. The worst part was he was right.

Before Itou Shiraki left prison, he became friends with Ryuji Katsumoto because he was a young man who had incomparable street smarts and always knew how to locate things of specific desires, especially drugs of any variety. Because his cousin was already working as a stripper and prostitute at his club in addition to her "legal daytime status" as a retail store worker, he decided a collaboration was in order. Itou Shiraki inserted himself into Ryuji's drug career with the help of his brother, Jiro Shiraki, who owned a pawn shop just across the street. Ryuji would reel a new client in with his "free sample" policy for first time users and he would always make it the hard stuff to ensure addiction would follow. When they would become addicted, they would do anything to get the drugs again, so he would make the mild suggestion of selling some stolen goods, which was where Jiro Shiraki came in. All the victims of addiction would have to do was bring the stolen goods to Jiro Shiraki, tell him that Ryuji sent them, and he would roll out the cash for the goods. He would keep them off the books, which broke the law but since when did criminals care about the rule of law? When the items would be reported stolen and every time the police paid him a visit to look at his records, they would come up empty.

As solid as the team was, it wasn't without its issues. Ryuji acquired his drugs from a gang of street thugs and gangbangers that would supply him with the substances and they would split the profits, as well as some of the bounties Ryuji's addicts would bring to the pawn shop and they'd be resold on the streets to help keep police suspicion off Jiro Shiraki. It was a pretty sweet setup, especially whenever the cops would find a stolen item in the hands of a gangbanger instead of on a shelf in Jiro Shiraki's pawn shop. Each night though to keep the flow of money coming, Ryuji and Yuka would team up to go on heists by breaking into cars, electronic stores, whatever, or she would stand on a street corner and wait to have her fill of debauchery again. The issues between Ryuji's team and the drug gang however didn't arise with the drugs or with the pawn shop, but rather with Yuka Miyakawa herself.

Sometimes Ryuji would pay for drug shipments that arrived a little "short" in supply so the value was naturally down and he was out some of his investment before he could even start making it back. He suspected he was being cheated by the same gangbangers he was in collaboration with, which led to Yuka Miyakawa taking matters into her own hands to investigate. One night, it led her to go above and beyond the call of insanity.

She flirted with one of the members of the drug gang and because she was who she was both inside and outside, it didn't take her long until she had him in a sleazy motel room with her. Miyakawa was able to convince him to let her cuff his hands and feet to the bed, which was a fatal mistake on his part. She got lost in the "romantic" moment and slipped him a drug through a kiss that paralyzed him but he was still able to feel pain. With his mouth covered with duct tape, the gangbanger was forced to feel and watch Yuka Miyakawa disembowel him with her favorite serpent dagger and even eat some of his entrails in front of him. Naturally, when the drug gang found the hollowed body of their friend, it led to Yuka Miyakawa becoming a street legend and the unofficial daughter of Satan. Relations with Ryuji and the gang had been on thin ice ever since. Each side wanted to be the drug kingpins of town and no one wanted to give leeway to the other, which some feared made a gang war inevitable.

This was everything that Kagami Hiiragi had inserted herself into the middle of.

With Yuka Miyakawa's story fresh in her mind, the loosely-dressed twin-tailed girl stood outside on a street corner under a streetlamp at eleven o'clock at night, waiting for her first of many customers. She didn't know what she was more afraid of by this point. Whether it was losing her virginity, the fear of losing her drugs, or of Yuka Miyakawa herself or the operations she was happily a part of. For now, Kagami feared the unknowns of sex.

Yuka Miyakawa switched out Kagami's top for a more revealing black tube top, which barely covered her small breasts and completely exposed her belly. Shivering from fright of the night and the haunting silence that came with it, Kagami held onto her purse dangling at her hip to ease her stress. She couldn't help but look inside of it again to make sure she was still considering this horrendous act, which was confirmed for her when she saw over a dozen condoms sitting inside her purse. She gulped and quickly shut her purse as she continued to shiver and fought back the urge to cry.

So far it was a quiet night. Maybe no one would spot her or solicit her tonight. She could also hide somewhere for the entire night and say she was out looking for clients but none ever came. Kagami rolled so many possibilities in her mind but her street smarts were slowly kicking in. She had a sinking feeling that either Ryuji or Yuka were coming across clients and they were sending them her way. She knew this because she was told not to move from the corner she stood on by both of them, and it was regrettably common sense to Kagami that a virgin like her would have a very high street value.

The first noise she heard made her jump with terror. A clap of thunder tore through the night sky as a storm was rolling towards her. What came next though was even more terrifying. Lights illuminated behind her and Kagami slowly turned her head and her pupils shortened and sweat trickled downward when she saw a pair of headlights from a car heading towards her and it was slowing down.

The car pulled alongside her and the window rolled down and to Kagami's further horror, a man older than her own father began to eye her up. There was an unsettling pause between them until the man said, "You the virgin the crazy bitch was talking about?"

Feeling her knees knocking together and her voice tightening, Kagami squeaked, "Ye…yes…"

The old man smiled evilly. "The price she said was fifty thousand yen to take your virginity. Sound good to you, pretty girl?"

Reality was getting too close but Kagami's drug addiction kept dragging her forward. She nodded, her eyes still flooding with tears as the rain began to fall upon them. The voices inside her head were telling her to both run and push forward. The withdrawal was approaching so her mind was becoming a dark cloud, much like the ones dropping water on her.

The old man started laughing happily, making Kagami shiver and she knew it was for real when he opened his passenger door and said, "Get in."

She wanted to scream no and run for her life, but the drugs were her life now. The drugs took control of her and it even horrified Kagami's senses to see herself walking forward, her heavy boots echoing against the street in the dark part of the dingy section of town. Kagami instantly regretted sitting in the car when she was blasted by the smell of alcohol, cigarette smoke, and moldy food. Regardless, she closed the door and the old man began to drive away and for all Kagami knew, he could be driving her to her death.

He only drove around the block and pulled into a dark alley between two decrepit buildings. The two got in the backseats of his smelly and dirty car and Kagami fished in her purse as her hands trembled like maracas. She slowly pulled one of the condoms out and held it out to the man, who chuckled and took it to humor the scared girl.

Kagami pressed her body as hard as she could against the door and continued to stare through the glass, feeling like a prisoner in this impending horror. The cold raindrops continued to cover and fog the glass as she breathed hard and she wanted to scream when she felt the old man touch her shoulder.

As she breathed hard she quickly said, "Look, I'm scared and I've never done this before. Could…could you let me out please?"

"Oh come now honey, I just want to show you a good time. You want your money, don't you?" He asked and began to play with Kagami's long hair.

Kagami's old self began to break through when she reached for the door handle and exclaimed, "I don't want to do this, let me out!"

Kagami tried to open the door but it was locked and she suddenly saw the lock was busted off. She was trapped in the car with him. She let out a quick scream when the old man reached up her skirt and grabbed her panties. He ripped them off her legs with such harsh vigor and Kagami tried to keep backing up as she began crying and panting. It was as if she was trying to force her way through the door by force with her back and her panic deepened when she saw the man take off his pants and she saw the condom covering the part of him that would take away a part of her.

"Please…please…! Be gentle!" She cried for mercy and screamed again when he grabbed her legs, parted them, and pulled her closer to him. He grabbed her head and held her down as she continued to spew her tears into the rotten seats and cry for her mother.

"I'll be gentle with ya! I'll be gentle like a fucking beast!" He taunted and made his final approach towards Kagami, her legs separated and he rested on top of her. Kagami kept screaming in her mind one thing that would hopefully calm her down.

_Pain is temporary! Pain is temporary! Pain is temporary! Pain is temporary! Pain is temporary! Pain is temporary! Pain is temporary! Pain is temporary! Pain is temporary! Pain is temporary! Pain is temporary! Pain is temporary! _

She suddenly felt the flesh in her privates begin to stretch open and her heart leaped into her throat. The stretching underneath her skirt got worse and worse as did the pain until the petrified girl couldn't take it anymore. Kagami opened her mouth and released a scream of pure pain and terror, which was instantly buried by another clap of thunder as the storm was in full swing. The car started to rock back and forth in the heavy rainstorm and anyone walking by wouldn't think twice of it. They wouldn't even care when they would see Kagami's right hand squeezing the plastic handle inside the car with all its might to try and force out the pain while her left would be clawing at the rear window as her defloration continued.

Fifteen minutes later, the car stopped rocking but the rain continued to pound all around it, creating a haunting surrounding with the only noise being the falling water. There was a pause until the backseat door opened and the silent Kagami Hiiragi was pushed callously out of the car and she landed with a splash on the wet cement in the alley. The car's lights illuminated again and it soon sped away into the night, leaving the young girl alone in the alley as the unremitting rain followed.

Kagami remained motionless on the ground for a few more minutes until she slowly began to wince. She trembled fiercely as she slowly climbed to her feet, her body now soaking wet and shivering from the cold. With her knees knocking from the excruciating burning and throbbing pain she felt between her legs, she hugged herself tightly and simply stood there, unsure what to do next.

Her teary eyes suddenly spotted a large and empty refrigerator box at the corner of the alley and her tired legs slowly carried her towards it. With the silence still her only companion, Kagami took shelter in the moldy box and when she sat down, the pain electrified and she could still feel a patch of fresh blood continuing to grow and stain her blue and white striped panties. She curled tighter into a ball in the corner of the box as the rain fell endlessly and her eyes continued to drip tears while she stared into space.

The chain of events that transpired which ultimately led her to this refrigerator box in a back alley continued to haunt her mind. She could still smell him. His breath ripe with alcohol and cigarettes. She could still feel him inside her, pumping over and over again as she gritted her teeth in pain. She always envisioned her first time would be magical and romantic, but this was putrid. Her father always told her that she only got one first time…and she sold it for fifty thousand yen.

Her breathing becoming deeper and more sporadic, Kagami finally broke. She screamed again though no one was around to hear her wails of sorrow as she started crying loudly in her box. The ailing twin-tailed girl began rocking back and forth in her sea of pain and misery knowing that there was a part of her that was now gone and she would never get it back. Kagami kept crying and crying in the box as the rain fell upon her.


	16. Chapter 16

CHAPTER 15

"Tell me more about your relationship with Kagami personally." Dr. Kishimoto politely requested of Miki Hiiragi as the two sat alone in the psychologist's office. "I decided to start seeing each of you individually to gather a more unbiased perspective of your home life. It's not that I don't trust you, it's just that sometimes people will subconsciously hide vital pieces of information when they're in a crowd and not share it for fear of the spotlight. As always, everything you say here is safe with me and never leaves this office."

Miki nodded as she sat on the same couch as before. "I understand. Well, Kagami is my second to youngest daughter and is Tsukasa's fraternal twin and, well, I'm her mother. We always got along, but then again Kagami was able to get along with everyone she ever met. Even when she was in kindergarten with Tsukasa, Kagami was always the popular one and always took a leadership role. I never really had to pay as much attention to her as I did with Inori when she was born, and especially Tsukasa. It always baffled me that Kagami and Matsuri didn't get along as well because they were always independent and practically raised themselves so they always had that in common."

"I see…" Dr. Kishimoto replied as she started writing again. "Please continue."

"Inori was a bit of a drama queen and an attention hog when she was little but as soon as Matsuri came along, she began to calm down but Tsukasa _always_ needed me nearby, especially when she was a toddler." Miki reminisced. "To be honest, a lot of my memories with Kagami aren't that in-depth in detail. I always loved her and paid attention to her, but she was practically raising herself even before she could walk. Besides, as Kagami grew, her interests became more distant from mine. I was always happy to be a housewife and to raise my family, which was something I always shared with Tsukasa and I taught her housework but Kagami never showed any interest in it. She didn't need me as much as Tsukasa did so I guess my relationship with Kagami was only a standard mother and daughter one."

Dr. Kishimoto nodded as she crossed her legs to get more comfortable in her chair. "Okay that makes sense to me. Now tell me about your relationship with _your_ family. Not with your husband or children, but with your parents."

Miki was taken back a bit by the unexpected and seemingly irrelevant question but nevertheless replied to it. "I have a great relationship with my parents. I'm an only child and I grew up in a very luxurious upbringing so all my needs and everything else was met from the very beginning. My parents still love me very much and we talk on the phone all the time, though they were a little surprised to hear that I wanted a simple lifestyle with a husband and lots of children back when I was younger. They still supported that every step of the way and my rich upbringing was able to help us sustain a household as large as ours for so long."

Dr. Kishimoto added another nod.

"But please, may I ask what is the relevance between my relationship with my parents and getting Kagami better?" Miki asked.

"A well-warranted question, Miki-san, and I'll tell you. I was involving your parents because you told me in our last session that Kagami stole priceless heirlooms from your side of the family for drug money, correct?" She asked.

Miki nodded.

"And you confronted Kagami on this but it turned into a fight that resulted in your husband's injury, am I still accurate in my speech?"

Miki nodded again.

"Okay, and the reason I was involving your parents was because I need to ask; is it possible that you have a deeper and even better relationship with your own parents instead of Kagami?" Dr. Kishimoto asked, drawing a strange look from Miki. "It seemed that you were very upset over Kagami stealing those items and rightfully so, but it seemed that you were more upset over those items instead of her drinking incident or her fight with Matsuri, or even her drug use. Care to elaborate?"

Miki was blindsided by the turn of events and suddenly felt that she was under the spotlight. She stuttered initially until she retorted, "That…that's not true. I was mad because Kagami showed a blatant disregard and disrespect for me and my side of the family. Those heirlooms were in my family for years, some of them even hundreds of years old."

Dr. Kishimoto nodded again. "An excellent point but may I add more to it?"

Miki gave her approval to do so.

"From my analysis, it seemed that Kagami's addiction had already taken over her by that point, which made her commit the crime against you and your family. The drugs in her system were telling her that stealing was basically her only way to survive and in Kagami's mind, you were mad at her for simply wanting to survive, which triggered that episode." Dr. Kishimoto stated. "Remember, I still believe that Kagami may have the mild form of that personality disorder and all she wanted was to be reassured that she was doing the right thing. When Matsuri scolded her and showed her tough love, Kagami's only defense mechanism she knew was to get angry and push back. The same thing can be said for the night your husband's hand was broken."

Miki cast her eyes downward. "Well, I guess that could make sense but…but I'm still having a hard time accepting all of it. I mean, I'm still her mother so how did I miss all of these warning signs?"

Dr. Kishimoto quickly said the words that Miki desperately sought. "Please Miki-san, I'm not questioning or even scrutinizing your parenting skills or methods. I know there are some misconceptions of therapy and some believe that people like me are only here to point the finger at the parents but rest assure that this is not the case whatsoever. The fact of the matter is that you were there but you and everyone else did miss signs, but don't feel bad. Mental disorders are not like physical illnesses where the symptoms are clear in clues like fevers or vomiting. Let me ask another question. Have there been other times where Kagami had displayed anger in seemingly trivial situations?"

Miki searched her memory and it surprised even her when she was able to come up with quite a few. "The one that sticks out in my memory the most was when my husband and I were supposed to go on vacation but he made a mistake about the trip dates. While we were gone though, Matsuri wanted to make dinner for her sisters but needed ingredients and left Kagami a voicemail to pick them up but she didn't get the message in time. Matsuri vented her frustration, which made Kagami quickly leave the house in anger to go shopping. They remained on non-speaking terms only until after we came home and Matsuri paid Kagami the reassurance she must've sought and then everything was great again."

"Any others?" Dr. Kishimoto asked.

"Well, she also has this kind of quirky blue-haired friend that gives her a lot of grief about her weight. I remember we were also talking about that last session and…wait a minute…" Miki said and a sudden revelation came to her. "Back at her high school graduation ceremony. She met with her friend, I believe her name is Konata, and Konata made another joke about her weight, which infuriated Kagami which still baffles us considering how great she always looked, but when Konata said that she looked great and that even a few girls from her class envied her figure, she felt much better. It was like a sudden light switch shift."

Dr. Kishimoto kept writing and nodded. "I see. You see, Miki-san, as I said before, mental disorders aren't always clear. Some are evident from birth but others, like the one your daughter may have, is the type that can only be detected by certain triggers. In Kagami's case, these triggers are hints or even accusations that she's not doing the right thing or she may be doing something wrong. As I also said before, Kagami is the type of girl that _needs_ people to tell her that she's doing everything right or else she'll fold like a map."

Miki continued to engage Dr. Kishimoto in these conversations about Kagami and how her possible disorder worked, all the while remaining oblivious to the fact that Dr. Nagisa Kishimoto herself was keeping a relevant secret from the Hiiragi family that concerned every single aspect of Kagami's current situation. Her own thoughts haunted her as she talked to herself while she listened to Miki speak.

_I need to help Kagami. I feel so horrible…and even responsible for what's happening to her. I need to make things right once and for all. To think I could've stopped this before it even began…_

(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(- )-(-)

She was risking extensive nerve damage as the scorching water continued to rain down on top of her but Kagami didn't care. In the shower of Yuka Miyakawa's apartment she sat in a ball and she let the hot water continue to burn the filth off her. Her virginity was taken from her the previous night in such a boorish and insensitive way and Kagami was still crying. She held herself tightly while she still trembled uncontrollably while her womanhood continued to pulsate and burn in agony.

In Kagami's mind, she had done the truly unthinkable and worst possible thing to her body. Her virginity was one of her secretly treasured gems about herself and she was now tormented by the fact that she put a price tag on it like it was a household appliance. The pain not only continued to swarm her, but the endless shame and guilt was so gargantuan that not even the drugs were numbing the pain away. She did her fair share of heroin and crack after her first time but she still felt like trash. Kagami fought the urge to vomit again when she saw the memories of the old man penetrating her and breathing on top of her over and over again flash in her mind. The noises he made during the whole ordeal and the way he smelled; Kagami believed she might as well have committed bestiality.

"I…I don't want to do this anymore…" Kagami whispered in the midst of her noisy hot shower. "I…I…I want to go home."

As Kagami sniffed more of her broken emotions again, the bathroom door slowly opened and Kagami's body turned ice-cold despite the hot water when she saw the outline of Yuka Miyakawa slowly walk in and close the door behind her. The frightened Hiiragi girl cowered in the corner of the bathtub with the shower still running as Miyakawa slumped to her knees and simply stared at the shower curtain.

"Are you feeling any better, baby?" She asked with a voice that somehow made everything even colder for Kagami.

Kagami remained silent, too scared to reply.

"I know, I know. The first time always hurts…but don't worry. It'll only feel better and better from here on out." Miyakawa whispered, frightening Kagami even more. The crazed young woman was implying that Kagami was going to do these horrible acts over and over again. "Let me help you, Kagami. Let me teach you all the ways of my world. Let me become one with you…"

Kagami nearly screamed when she saw Miyakawa slowly reach her arm through the shower curtain and gently rub the bathtub, inviting Kagami to take her hand. Last night though really hit home hard for her and Kagami now wanted out. It took this traumatic experience to break through and tell her that her life was now truly in danger. Miyakawa's snake-like arm searching for its prey further convinced Kagami that she needed to go now.

"Yu…Yuka…I want out." Kagami quickly said. "You guys said that I could leave at anytime I wanted. I want out. I want to go home and get clean."

Miyakawa's first retort was complete silence, only deepening Kagami's distress as she watched the motionless figure through the blurry shower curtain. She reached up and turned the shower off while still remaining tucked in her protective ball.

"I know that I'll still be upset over Matsuri and Kusakabe every day but I know there's a better way for me to deal with this pain. I can take on the world on my own strength, even if no one is there to prop me up or tell me I can do it. Even though I get depressed every time I make mistakes, all I need is endless positive self-talk." Kagami added and began to slink closer towards the edge of the shower to grab her towel. "I just don't want to live this kind of lifestyle anymore. Last night…it hurt so much in more ways than one and I'm afraid of it and—"

Suddenly, Miyakawa tore the shower curtain open and stuck her head in, seeing Kagami's naked body. The frightened Hiiragi girl shrieked in fear and crawled back to the other side of the tub while trying to keep herself covered with her arms.

"Why are you afraid, Kagami?" Miyakawa hissed. "Why are you so afraid to show off such a beautiful body like yours? Why are you such a prude?"

Kagami gulped as she shivered both from fear and the once hot water on her body was beginning to turn cold. "I'm…I'm not a prude, Yuka. I'm just…I'm just…"

"You're just what, Kagami? Afraid? Afraid of what? Tell me…what are you afraid of?" Yuka remained undeterred in keeping Kagami in her life. "Why would you be afraid of acts between humans that brings insurmountable quantities of pleasure? Why are you afraid to become closer to people who truly care about you…like me?"

Kagami gulped again as she feared she was staring into the eyes of a rabid dog. "It's just that…my whole life I was taught that my body is a gift from the gods and to always treasure it and take care of it. What I did last night…it was a crime. It was a crime in both the human world and the divine world. I feel so repulsive now."

"You feel repulsed by artwork, Kagami?" Yuka continued to press the issue but followed it up with a soft voice, the kind that Kagami never expected to be hiding within the throat of the depraved sociopath. "Because that's exactly what your body is. A work of art. A masterpiece. I've known girls who have lived and died in their endless pursuits to acquire what you already possess. You're a swan among the ducks."

Aside from her treasured virginity, Kagami's other hidden secret was how truly insecure she was regarding her body and weight. She would never admit it but every time Konata would make fun of her for it, even when it was just fun and games, it would hurt Kagami deeply. No one in her entire life ever told her she was beautiful before. Of course her family and sisters always told her she was cute and a good looker, but that coming from them only got her so far. As she grew and became self-aware, she wanted to hear someone else not only tell her she was beautiful, but even make a move on her. Even though she had a tough tsundere personality, Kagami was soft as a pillow inside and desperately wanted someone in her life that would always be there for her. Though she never showed any outward interests in such things, Kagami always had the desire to be swept off her feet and romanticized; something her family couldn't give her. Miyakawa's simple words were so foreign to Kagami, they sent waves of adrenaline through her body and she tried in vain to hide her blush and gulp as her heart sped up.

"You…you really think that I'm…beautiful?" Kagami asked with a squeak as she unknowingly ran her hand through her long wet hair over her ear. "Even after I did that…thing…with that old guy? I feel that no one would want me now."

Yuka Miyakawa deepened her internal sinister glare as she was still slowly but surely getting what she wanted. "I would never lie to you, Kagami. You…you're very special to me. Everything about you is perfect and…I honestly meant it last night when I said I loved you. I love you, Kagami Hiiragi."

Miyakawa once again was able to perform an impressive act for Kagami and spoke the words the twin-tailed girl wanted to hear the most. Kagami's hidden and even unknown mental issues that beat her down every time she fell short of something were telling her to open her heart and mind to this girl. The drugs also told her that she and Ryuji were her meal ticket and she began to view them both as her family, substituting her parents for them. Her true family. The only two people in the world who would understand her and why she needed the drugs. Of course, Kagami still couldn't see that Ryuji and Yuka were just thugs and pushers and only saw the twin-tailed girl as another asset to their collection and team to be used and abused for profit.

Yuka Miyakawa didn't love her. She didn't even care about her. All she had on her mind was squeezing everything she could get out of Kagami until the twin-tailed girl would either die of a drug overdose or be murdered in a prostitution deal gone bad. Kagami wouldn't be the first girl to be lured in by Miyakawa and to be forced into this lifestyle driven by Ryuji's drugs. Miyakawa's soft and delicate words however painted a much different image for Kagami to comprehend and her baptism in the world of prostitution the previous night was becoming a distant memory as Kagami scooted closer to Yuka, who reformed her smile on her face.

"Yuka…I'm scared…of these new emotions. I've…I've never had anyone say they loved me before…or that I'm beautiful. I tried to…make myself available to guys but…they never seemed to notice." Kagami confided while still keeping her nude body covered with her arms. "I…I always thought that it was me. I hate it when I set out to accomplish something but I can't, especially when it's a subject of this kind of…personal matter."

Miyakawa slowly nodded. "Boys are overrated. They can't grasp the concept of a woman's heart and soul and that they can both be tempestuous places at times. I see both of those gems inside you, Kagami. Everything about you, both inside and out is godlike."

Kagami shifted her eyes back and forth several times, almost afraid to lift them up and look Miyakawa in the eyes. When Kagami was finally able to make eye contact with the sociopath, Kagami gulped again.

"Yuka…please don't leave me alone…" she uttered weakly. "I…I always hated being alone…"

Miyakawa deepened her conniving smile and placed both her hands on Kagami's cheeks. "I'm right here, baby. I promise you I will _never_ leave you alone. I'll be a part of your world…forever."

"…Oh Yuka…"

Kagami closed her eyes and pressed her lips into a puckered invite. For once, Kagami believed that she was feeling what being in love was like when she felt the warming touch of Yuka Miyakawa's lips connect with hers. The two girls kissed each other tenderly while Miyakawa had thoughts on her mind that were far from the warm and sincere concept of love. She had big, big plans for Kagami.

When Yuka Miyakawa was finally able to convince Kagami to put her dark and revealing clothes from The Black Window back on, the twin-tailed girl believed that she would be safer from now on. She believed that Miyakawa honestly loved her and would do anything for her. Kagami still had some tattered bits of innocence left in her when she believed these things, especially when Miyakawa walked her a few blocks to the same street that held the pawn shop and Teasers.

Though Kagami was reluctant to go into the strip club that she had heard of but still wasn't aware of all its secrets, especially the underground adult entertainment ring orchestrated by Miyakawa, she still trusted the girl who claimed she saw every inch of her beauty. The building was subtle and didn't present any red flags for Kagami on the outside. The only clues it showed that it catered to the adult entertainment world was the glowing neon sign on the top of it and the blocked out windows. Upon closer inspection, Kagami noticed several holes riddling the brick wall, identical to the ones on the pawn shop's side. More bullet holes.

The two girls approached the large iron door sealing the club shut and Miyakawa knocked loudly on it three times. Kagami suddenly heard sounds on the other side that resembled metal devices clicking together. She had no idea she was listening to the sounds of firearms loading and getting ready to fire.

"Who is it?" A man's voice asked on the other side when the weapons were finished loading.

"It's Jezebel! Open up, Itou!" Yuka revealed her codename to show she wasn't a rival looking for a war.

Kagami looked at her with confusion. "Jezebel?"

"The name of an angel in the Bible." Yuka replied. "We have to use codenames to keep each other safe and make sure none of our own is killed in these uncertain times."

Kagami nodded back as the next sound she heard was the clamoring of the large door unlocking. Though Kagami was well-rounded in her family's respect and exposure to other religions, she still wasn't a full expert on the Bible or all the figures in it. If she was, she would know that Jezebel was the exact opposite of an angel. She was probably the most notoriously evil woman in the Bible. She believed in paganism and butchered many of God's prophets of good, making her an instant hero to Yuka Miyakawa.

The door soon opened and the psychotic girl took Kagami's hand and led her into another dark abyss. Kagami's sensitive ears were instantly rocked by the intrusive pulsing of loud bass music as she walked through the dark hallway and saw several flashing and colorful lights on the other side. They bypassed three incredibly muscular guards who concealed their handguns in their holsters as the two girls entered the club. Yuka pushed the doorway beads aside and the two girls stood in the strip club and Kagami once again found herself in the middle of another culture shock.

The main room of the strip club was very large and spacious with a giant center stage with a single pole attached to the stage at one end and bolted to the ceiling at the top. The main stage held thick curtains and was lined with flashing lights while a fog machine vented some vapor clouds onto it. Other smaller stages were setup also with poles and flashing lights lining around the stages. A large bar was setup with hundreds of alcoholic bottles lining the shelves behind it with a muscular man behind it and cleaning the bar. He had a goatee with thinning hair tied back in a short ponytail and a large gold necklace hanging around his neck. Kagami instantly recognized this man to be the same one she saw in that fight with the other stripper when she came out of the pawn shop after she sold her mother's heirlooms. He was also talking to Ryuji, who sat at the bar and held a glass of alcohol in his hand.

"Care for a drink?" Yuka asked as she led Kagami to the bar.

Old memories of her party where she first met Ryuji and its following consequences flashed in Kagami's mind. She gulped and trembled in reluctance and couldn't help but see some hypocrisy. She didn't want to drink anymore because it reminded her of her sister's death, but at the same time had no problem turning to drugs in order to numb the pain and forget all her mounting troubles. Regardless, Kagami still followed Miyakawa as she wanted to introduce her to the man behind the bar.

"Hey Itou!" She exclaimed, grabbing the man's attention, as well as Ryuji's and the two girls finally arrived at the bar while Yuka continued. "This is the girl I was telling you about. Her name is Hiiragi Kagami."

The muscular man nodded to her. "Good to meet you, Hiiragi. The name's Shiraki Itou. I run this little establishment and as I'm sure you know by now that you're hanging out with the best dancer in the business. So have you come to dance for my club?"

Kagami realized this was a setup. She already crossed through the painful threshold of prostitution and didn't want to further degrade herself by becoming a stripper. Before she could protest however, Yuka answered for her.

"Of course she is! Just look at this sexy little body of hers!" Yuka exclaimed and hugged Kagami closely while the twin-tailed girl squirmed in the grip.

Kagami was finally able to wedge loose of Yuka's imprisoning embrace and she quickly backed away while stating, "No, Yuka! I don't want to keep doing these things! I…I…I need to sit down."

Kagami, once again frightened, began moving to another table where customers would usually sit and enjoy cigars or cigarettes and she fell into one of the padded chairs. Fortunately for Kagami, it was still the middle of the day so the club was a ghost town so she wouldn't be harassed. She gripped her head as she panted sporadically and tried to quell her rising panic while she still innocently believed that Yuka Miyakawa would respect her wishes.

The conniving sociopath turned back to Itou Shiraki, her boss, and Ryuji, her cousin, and confidently proclaimed, "She's also going to be the replacement bitch that quit on us last week. You know, for 'companionship.'"

Itou turned his head to Ryuji, who finished his drink and nodded when he put the glass back on the bar. He seemed a bit pessimistic about her and replied, "Are you sure? She seems a bit too…innocent…for this kind of work. She doesn't seem troubled enough to want to do it on a whim like you, Yuka."

Yuka smirked. "Just let me work with her. I'll have her depraved and on her knees and back begging for it soon enough and I'll start now. Is my next client ready yet?"

Itou nodded. "Yep. Hata already paid and is waiting for you downstairs in room three."

Yuka once again formed her trademark grin that told the world she had a plan. "Tell him it's his lucky day because there will be a second girl for him. Also, switch the rooms. Tell him to be in room four in five minutes. Ryuji…do you have something I could use to loosen the little Hiiragi bitch up?"

Ryuji nodded and reached into his jacket pocket and retrieved a normal prescription bottle, though it only served as a transportation device. He popped the lid off and dropped two perfectly circular white tablets on the bar, each one with a small heart edged into them. Yuka knew what they were instantly and wasted no time in snatching one and swallowing it with delight while ordering her boss to give her a bottle of bourbon from the shelf behind him. She took several deep gulps of the intoxicating drink until she exhaled loudly and happily.

"And would it kill you to add a little fucking music to set the goddamn mood down there?!" Miyakawa snapped as the drug and alcohol began to work its dark magic on her.

Itou rolled his eyes and got on his knees to change the song selection on the stereo system underneath the bar. A new and louder song that suited Yuka Miyakawa's personality began tearing the speakers apart and it sent waves of wanton euphoria pulsating throughout her body. She turned her head as the metal music continued to sound throughout the empty strip club and eyed Kagami like the vulture she was inside, who was still sitting in her chair and breathing deeply.

She walked towards Kagami in her tight and revealing wardrobe, catching the twin-tailed girl's attention as the lyrics of the song playing throughout the club and Kagami was only able to hear a few verses, though it was ominous enough.

_Take a look to the sky just before you die it's the last time he will. Blackened roar, massive roar fills the crumbling sky shattered goal fills his soul with a ruthless cry._

Yuka bent down to Kagami, gently collected her hand in hers, and pulled her up while whispering, "We need to talk. Let's go somewhere more private."

Itou and Ryuji watched Miyakawa hold Kagami's hand with her right hand while her left hand held the second white tablet in-between her fingers. Miyakawa led Kagami behind another velvet curtain that would take them downstairs to the epicenter of her prostitution ring. A chamber that produced more income than Itou Shiraki ever dreamed of as a result of Yuka Miyakawa's relentless pursuit of the twisted and macabre where nothing was considered a taboo and now it had Kagami.

The two men turned away again as Itou poured Ryuji another drink while adding, "That cousin of yours. She has a thing for preying on the mentally sick."

Ryuji nodded with no humanity and as far as he believed, Kagami was just another commodity. "Well it takes a psycho to find the rest of them I suppose. I still remember when she got her diagnosis when she was younger. I never thought anyone would be so excited to be diagnosed with psychosis."

Kagami had no idea where she was when Miyakawa led her down a flight of stairs and into a hallway with eight doors on each side of them travelling down the corridor. Regardless, she still followed Miyakawa and she led her into a room with a number four written on the door. The inside of the room was like an enlarged prison cell with the walls built of solid concrete and to Kagami's surprise, two mattresses were stacked on top of the other in the middle of the room.

With the twin-tailed girl's back turned, Miyakawa quickly took the white tablet from the protective shelter of the fingers on her left hand and readied herself to make her move. "Kagami, are you okay, sweetheart?"

Kagami nodded as she still scanned the dark room. "I'm…I'm okay. I'm still just really scared by all of this. I still don't think I belong in this kind of world."

Miyakawa took a few steps further and quickly put the drug in her mouth and tapped Kagami on her shoulder. The twin-tailed girl turned and was surprised when her lips were inhaled by Miyakawa's and they shared another kiss. Kagami still felt secured with this girl and even allowed Miyakawa to dig deeper into her mouth, which was when she made her move. At once, Kagami's eyes shot open when something foreign was put in her mouth and it fell down her throat. She pushed Miyakawa away as the psychotic girl rubbed her lips with a smile while Kagami gripped her throat.

"You…you just forced me to swallow something. What was it?" Kagami asked calmly though with detectable panic.

"Ecstasy." Miyakawa made no attempts in hiding her act when she answered with pride. "Now Kagami, you're going to feel a little strange but don't worry, you need to trust me. What's about to happen next will feel like a beautiful dream."

"Dream? What are you talking about?" Kagami asked but before Miyakawa answered, her world began to become one colorfully surreal miasma. Everything became blurry and Miyakawa's voice began to echo as the vision in front of her became sparkled with colorful dots and stripes. As her vision became an endless kaleidoscope, she began to feel both a mixture of relaxation and alertness. She barely noticed it when a man came into the room with her and Miyakawa.

The man was younger than Kagami's first. He had a full head of hair and was dressed in a business suit and couldn't have been older than thirty years old. What made him unique though was the fact that he had a baby face and looked even more nervous than Kagami did during her first time. He was obviously a man of more upstanding status in society and he was nervous about what he had paid to do.

Regardless, Miyakawa slowly walked over to him and undid his tie as he trembled timidly as Kagami began to lose her balance in the midst of her new high. Giggling at the younger man's nerves, Yuka whispered, "Are you ready, stud?"

It took the man several attempts to respond but he was finally able to reply, "Ye…yes. This…this will all be kept a secret, right? I can't let my wife find out about this. She'll take our daughter and leave."

Miyakawa giggled again as she unbuttoned the first buttons of his shirt. "I give you my word. Everything we do is just between us so please, let your mind go wild. Let us fulfill your wildest fantasy…"

The man looked up at Kagami, who seemed to be completely out of it and he became concerned. "Is she okay?"

Miyakawa nodded and continued to whisper seductively. "She's fine. We're professionals so keep getting undressed and we'll get ready…"

She turned and as the nervous man began undressing, Miyakawa reached between her breasts and grabbed a small remote control and pressed a red button. In one of the corners of the ceiling in the room, a hidden surveillance camera turned on and started recording everything that was about to happen. Miyakawa tucked the remote control back between her breasts and guided the confused Kagami to the mattresses and gently laid her down on them and rested her body on top of her.

Kagami didn't even notice it when Miyakawa worked both their underwear off and the insane girl held Kagami down. Kagami was still high but was beginning to understand what was about to happen, thus increasing her flaring emotions. "Yuka…what's happening?! Am I going to be touched again?! Please don't let them touch me!"

Miyakawa quickly shushed Kagami softly and rubbed the twin-tailed girl's hair over her ear. She didn't stop there and maneuvered her hand down Kagami's exposed stomach until she arrived at a spot and she curled her fingers, making Kagami nearly scream out sensationally. She cried, "What is that?! Yuka…what's happening?!"

The young man approached them and viewed the sight of the back of the two girls facing him. Kagami continued to struggle while Miyakawa turned her head with a smile. "So handsome, which one do you want first? Me…or my inexperienced little friend who is still innocent and trusting?"

It was the way Miyakawa phrased the latter that hooked the young man. Miyakawa was also a master in making her victims appear helpless and innocent, an act that turned even the most nervous of men into a testosterone-fueled animal. He chose Kagami first as Miyakawa turned her head back to Kagami to see her eyes still darting everywhere in confusion.

Kagami suddenly felt another sensation enter her below her hips and it made her wince and yelp. She squeezed her eyes shut as she gritted her teeth while moaning and her body began shooting up and down as it was held down by Miyakawa on the mattresses. The crazed woman on top of Kagami could only smile as she watched her prey react to her initiation into her prostitution ring. Though Kagami was barely able to comprehend that she was having sex again, she continued to squeeze her eyelids tighter and tighter, making tears fall down her face.

Miyakawa lowered her face to Kagami's and used her tongue to lick up the tears coming from Kagami's eyes. She tasted the twin-tailed Hiiragi's tears and licked her chops with satisfaction while whispering her infamous line with a smile, "How lovely…"

Miyakawa reveled in her one thought as the young man finished his round with Kagami and the twin-tailed girl breathed deeply with exhaustion and he moved up to her.

_Kagami Hiiragi…you are mine…forever._


	17. Chapter 17

CHAPTER 16

With her big sister and hero in Kagami missing for an entire week, the one that was hurt the most was without a doubt Tsukasa. She couldn't go one whole day without shedding tears for her sister and she also couldn't go a single twenty-four hour period without checking in her sister's room, expecting her to be there. It was Tsukasa who was scheduled to see Dr. Nagisa Kishimoto alone next time, but the youngest Hiiragi girl already knew that there were no words of comfort any licensed therapist could say that would make her feel better. Tsukasa's only desire now was so simple, yet it was still unattainable. All she wanted was Kagami home again with her.

When it was her turn to sit down one-on-one with Dr. Kishimoto, Tsukasa mimicked one of Kagami's first symptoms after Matsuri's death. She completely clammed up and didn't want to say a word. Even when she brought her stuffed plush puppy that Dr. Kishimoto gave her during their first session, it still only served as a comfort object rather than a transitional one. The psychologist understood how fragile and docile Tsukasa was so she turned the therapy session into small talk, which was able to get Tsukasa to open up a bit. Still, Tsukasa couldn't talk about what she was feeling when it came to Kagami so Dr. Kishimoto kept the subjects trivial to keep Tsukasa comfortable, such as her interests in cooking. The two even shared a few cooking secrets with each other, thus furthering Tsukasa's trust in the doctor.

Regardless of their bettering relationship, Tsukasa was still happy when their time was up and she could leave the therapist's office. She didn't tell this to Dr. Kishimoto, but she was looking forward to the end of their appointment because she was going to meet a friend at a café to talk. Tsukasa trusted the licensed psychologist and everything, but this one friend she was going to see meant more to her because of how long they've known each other and this was the person who Tsukasa felt that she could truly divulge everything to.

Tsukasa arrived at the café first and was only alone for a few minutes until she felt the presence of another person behind her and she turned around to see Konata with a smile on her face and she held two parfaits in her hand. Tsukasa nearly leaped out of her seat to hug Konata as the two friends were becoming closer and closer. Konata was the type of friend that would always be there to help pick up the pieces of a shattered family and even do whatever she could to help them rebuild it. She cared so much for the Hiiragi family, Kagami especially and she was wise enough to know how much the twin-tailed girl meant to Tsukasa so Konata knew Tsukasa really needed her.

"Thank you for seeing me, Kona-chan." Tsukasa said happily as Konata slid her one of the fruit parfaits to her while she sat down with the other.

Konata nodded with a smile. "No worries, Tsukasa. So how have you been holding up?"

Tsukasa sighed and shrugged. "Well, my family has been going to therapy."

Konata lifted her eyebrows. She didn't know what to make of the confession but regardless couldn't judge the Hiiragi family nor could she blame them. "How has that been going?"

"I don't really like it that much but it means a lot to my mom so I'm not complaining. I don't like it because it seems that it's not helping us find Kagami. It's just helping us deal with her gone, as if she's already gone forever and now we need to cope with the loss." Tsukasa confessed. "Kagami is still out there somewhere. I just know it and I want to find her so much but…but…but I don't know where or how to do it."

Tsukasa's tears abruptly returned and she took a napkin and dabbed them quickly before anyone else in the café saw as Konata watched keenly. Konata took a breath and replied, "Tsukasa, we all know Kagami is still out there somewhere…but something is telling me that if you do go searching for her and by some miracle you do find her, you won't like what you find."

Tsukasa still maintained her childlike innocence and stared blankly at Konata. "What do you mean, Kona-chan? She's my sister. I'll be the happiest girl in the world if I found her."

Despite the fact that Konata still presented her usual and happy persona, it was taking a lot of strength on her part to keep that side of her alive. Konata still remembered the last time they saw each other outside the mall and Kagami said she was going home to make things right and she was optimistic, but still real about it. She had a sinking feeling it was too good to be true but she still prayed for the best but mentally prepared herself for the worst. When Tsukasa called her and told her that Kagami yelled at them and even hit her, Konata knew her instincts were right.

Kagami was suffering deeply from everything going on in her life and she went crawling back to the sources of her drug addiction because she believed she needed them to survive. When anyone was suffering through drug addiction, there was no lighter side to it and it was a never-ending downward slope. Konata wasn't an exact scholar of the streets but it was still common sense to her that basic economic supply and demand concepts revolved around the underground drug world. Drugs were expensive, which led to Kagami stealing from her family and from strangers. Sooner or later there wouldn't be anything left to steal and the only thing left to acquire income was the use of her own body. Konata couldn't and didn't even want to imagine what Tsukasa's reaction would be if she somehow found her sister with some sleaze-ball who was besmirching her body for a price.

"I know you'll be happy when you find her but Tsukasa…your sister isn't well." Konata said with remorse. "I fear that she's doing things other than drugs that are hurting her."

Tsukasa tilted her head. "What could possibly be worse than doing drugs?"

Konata didn't want to be the one who would strip Tsukasa of her innocence so she took control of the situation and guided it away from the subject. She always found that the best way to redirect a conversation was to answer a question with another question. "Just trust me on this. There are a lot of bad things out there but I want you to remember that your sister is very strong both physically and mentally and she still loves you. Are you still mad about when she slapped you?"

Tsukasa quickly shook her head. "No and I was never mad. I was scared and I was hurt but I could never be mad at sis. I know what you mean when you say that Kagami isn't well but that's not going to stop me from doing all that I can from helping her. She was always there for me and I cannot fail her now."

Konata nodded while sliding a spoonful of her parfait into her mouth. "You know that you can count on me to be there when you find her, right?"

Tsukasa smiled. "I know, and thank you, Kona-chan. You're a great friend."

The blue-haired girl smiled back. "You know my dad saw a therapist for awhile after my mom died."

Tsukasa tilted her head again while giving an emotional sigh. "Really? Did…did it help him?"

Konata rolled her eyes. "With the way he thinks and acts nowadays I can't help but speculate that that therapist got his license from a cereal box and to me it's nothing short of a miracle that Yu-chan is still innocent."

The youngest Hiiragi girl giggled.

"Anyway it did help him cope with my mom's death. I don't really remember much after she died but I do remember seeing him cry a few times over her. The therapist was able to convince him that what happened wasn't his fault because he blamed himself for her death even though there wasn't anything he could've done." Konata reminisced. "My point is that I really want you to try and keep giving it a chance. If your mom thinks that it's a good idea then listen to her. You know she loves you and only wants the best for you, right?"

Tsukasa nodded with a smile. "I do. It's just that I worry about her and her relationship with Kagami."

"Why's that?"

"I worry about that because it seems that it has always been distant. Kagami was always closer to either me or our dad over mom and I still can't get that fight she had with her out of my mind. Mom was very upset about Kagami stealing those things…but if I was a mother and I had a child that was in Kagami's predicament, I would cast all my material possessions to the curb to help them." Tsukasa said with emotion in her voice towards the end.

"I know Tsukasa, I know. All you know how to give is love." Konata replied.

The two friends ate the rest of their parfaits until an idea came to Tsukasa. There was a place she wanted to go and she wanted Konata to come with. "Wanna go for a walk, Kona-chan?"

The two friends always enjoyed each other's company and today was no exception. Konata found herself gravitating closer to the Hiiragi family in lieu of these horrible occurrences befalling them and she wanted to be the person to swoop in like a superhero to rescue and protect them. As they walked, the blue-haired girl assumed that Tsukasa was taking her to a place she always liked to visit. Tsukasa was an endless people pleaser and never spoke up to voice something she wanted to do and the first thing Konata had on her mind was a bakery or something of that sort. Konata was taken back a bit when their destination turned out to be a familiar cemetery. The same cemetery where Matsuri Hiiragi was buried.

Tsukasa led the way across the stone path with the rows of headstones to their left and right. While they neared Matsuri's burial place, Konata asked, "Do you come here often?"

The youngest Hiiragi twin nodded. "At least once a week since it happened. I've been coming here twice a week since Kagami confessed about her drug abuse to pray."

"What do you pray for?"

"I pray for Matsuri's soul to visit Kagami and help her. I pray that she'll be able to help Kagami stop all of this before something horrible happens to her." Tsukasa replied softly and her emotions began mounting when they reached the row where her late sister rested.

The two friends walked up a grassy mound and stopped when they stood above the headstone that bore the name Matsuri Hiiragi. Tsukasa couldn't contain herself any longer but felt safe with Konata in her presence so she didn't try to hide her tears. Konata simply stood with quiet dignity and respect for the departed as Tsukasa slowly lowered herself to her knees and gently touched the large marble stone.

"…Matsuri…" she began weakly. "I'm here with my best friend in the whole world today because Kagami means a lot to her too. I want you to know that I love you and I miss you every day. I pray to you…please forgive sis for what she's doing and please…please watch over her. Please help guide her back to the light that is our love for her. Please help her."

"Amen." Konata said sincerely, making Tsukasa slowly turn her head and look up at her. Tsukasa smiled as she wiped a tear away and slowly stood.

Konata walked Tsukasa out of the cemetery and back towards the Hiiragi household. As they left the hallowed ground, Konata once again took control of their conversation to make it more about Tsukasa to cheer her up.

"So could you explain that whole balsamic vinegar thing to me again?" She asked.

Tsukasa merely chuckled again.

(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(- )-(-)

When Tsukasa arrived back home later that day, she was once again met with the challenge of coming home without Kagami by her side. As a result of her newfound habit, Tsukasa still climbed the stairs and entered Kagami's bedroom just to be sure. Once she was met with an empty room yet again, her depression returned and returned downstairs where the rest of her family was waiting.

"How was your time with Konata-chan?" Miki asked as Tsukasa took a seat in the living room where Inori and Tadao watched the television.

Tsukasa nodded while replying, "It was very nice. She's a great friend."

Miki smiled back but before she could reply, Inori spoke up. "Hey Tsukasa, your other friend named Takara lives in the Azabu area, right?"

Tsukasa nodded and glanced at the television where it was tuned to a news station.

"Then take a look at this." Inori replied and everyone turned their attention back to the news and saw a reporter with his microphone talking to the camera.

"Azabu has always been an upscale neighborhood with a low level of crime but in recent weeks, an unusual spike in theft has struck this area and the most recent case is quite disturbing. According to police, a man and his wife were awakened by the man's Mercedes' car alarm and when he investigated, he discovered two young women dressed in black with ski masks trying to steal his car's GPS." The reporter informed. "When he tried to intervene, a third thief attacked him and bludgeoned him with a crowbar, allowing him and his two female accomplices to flee. Police tried to revive the man but he was pronounced dead at the scene by paramedics." The reporter informed. "In other news, police have also informed us that an increase in drug activity in the streets of Saitama's Aku District. Aku District is infamous for its high crime rate, most notably drugs and prostitution…"

The reporter's words became background noise when the family lost interest as soon as the news turned away from Miyuki's neighborhood and they continued talking. Inori informed the family that she had made plans with some friends so she would be out late while Miki and Tadao originally had dinner reservations for themselves. Hearing that their oldest daughter wasn't going to be around was about to put a damper on their dinner because they didn't want their youngest to be alone. They all knew how much Kagami meant to Tsukasa so they tried to not leave her alone as much as possible.

Tsukasa on the other hand maintained that she was okay and that she didn't want anyone to cancel their plans because of her. That was simply the kind of person she was. She didn't want to be responsible for being the wet blanket and she encouraged everyone to proceed with what they wanted to do that night. As Inori left the living room setting to freshen up, nobody noticed the news was still on and the story shifted to a press interview with the police chief of Saitama.

"So I ask the good people of Saitama to stay extra vigilant and to be on the lookout for these two criminals. If you see any of them, please contact the police immediately. Do not try to approach them or apprehend them in any way as they are to be considered armed and extremely dangerous." The man in the decorated uniform said. "These two criminals are wanted in connection with crimes that range from murder, racketeering, illicit gambling, drug smuggling, allegations of animal cruelty, and prostitution."

No one was watching the television screen when two wanted posters were projected on the screen that showed the images of Yuka Miyakawa and Ryuji Katsumoto.

The four person Hiiragi family continued to go about the rest of their day while trying their best to pretend that everything was normal and status quo. Each day they went without hearing from Kagami though made it harder and harder for them to keep up the charade. They wanted to believe that any day she would simply come home and they could be a whole family again or the police would be able to give them news about her. However, they didn't want to hear any news from them as they knew they would only hear from them if the Hiiragi family needed to come down to the city morgue to identify Kagami's body. They also knew that the police weren't able to do much period. A girl running away from home that was a legal adult and had a clean criminal record didn't exactly rank high in a police department's list of prioritized crimes.

By six o'clock that night, Miki and Tadao left their home for their dinner and Tsukasa was alone in the house. She sat in front of the television and tried to watch more news, something she only did with Kagami. Watching it and trying to comprehend all of it was like watching a television after the cable would go out and they would be left with a fuzzy screen. It was boring and difficult for the youngest Hiiragi to understand without Kagami there to explain the gist of the complicated issues, especially when it came to politics or the economy. Regardless, she wanted to keep trying because unfortunately, this was the only activity left Tsukasa could think of that she could share with Kagami, even though she wasn't there.

Tsukasa could now see why her twin always hated being alone and what it was like to be lonely. As hard as she tried to put herself in Kagami's shoes in the past, Tsukasa had to admit that she never felt alone before whether it was at school, at home, or in public. Now that Tsukasa's own safety blanket was taken away from her, she felt exposed and paranoid without Kagami by her side, even though she was in the sanctuary of her own home where she still knew nothing but endless love and support. The youngest Hiiragi girl sighed and concluded that this quest in watching and understanding the news was a losing battle so she turned the television off with the remote and sighed again. She rested her head on her arm as she sat at the table and fought the urge to cry.

The sudden sound of the front door unlocking and opening kept Tsukasa's tears at bay and she believed that her parents or Inori had returned home early. She slowly stood and walked towards the foyer and asked in general, "Did you forget something?"

Tsukasa didn't hear another door open and close quickly as she rounded the corner and stopped dead in her tracks when she saw who was in her home. Kagami stood before her in the foyer. Tsukasa nearly screamed out in terror as she didn't recognize her older sister at first with her recently dyed black hair with a dirty red colored pigtail and believed an intruder was in the house. Kagami's wardrobe was also surprisingly plain as she wore a blue tracksuit covering both her legs and torso. The twin-tailed girl stood in the foyer making eye contact with Tsukasa until Kagami couldn't help but form a misshaped smile.

"Hello…Tsukasa…"

Tsukasa felt her knees vibrate and her heart raced inside her chest as she gulped. Now she truly felt like crying as she slowly moved forward, praying this wasn't a hallucination somehow brought on by extreme depression. Kagami remained still and allowed Tsukasa to keep approaching her as her small trembling hands lifted up and expressed their vast desire to touch her. Kagami tried her best to hide the emotional scars and trauma after being touched another way so many times throughout today and allowed her sister's hands to make contact with her cheeks.

When Tsukasa felt that her sister's presence was real, she couldn't contain herself any longer. The youngest Hiiragi leaped forward and hugged her sister tightly, instantly making Kagami cringe at the intrusive embrace but she knew Tsukasa was her sister and not a paying customer. Tsukasa didn't know it, but today was a dreadful turning point for the twin-tailed girl and Kagami learned several new skills; the likes of which would never be welcomed in the Hiiragi household. Kagami however knew that she needed to use them on her sister if she wanted to keep getting her fix while working for the money in the process.

"Sis…you smell…funny." Tsukasa whispered as she sniffed her sister's hair, making Kagami's eyes go big and she hoped that Tsukasa wouldn't feel her rapid heartbeat. "And…and what did you do to your hair…and why is it sticky and crusty in some parts? Are you okay? Please tell me you're okay. Please tell me you're not taking those horrible things anymore."

Tsukasa discontinued the hug and took a few steps back while still holding her sister's hands. Kagami took a deep breath and said, "We need to talk."

Tsukasa agreed and the twins took their spot on their knees around the table that sat in the living room where Tsukasa was watching television alone only a few minutes ago. As they sat, Tsukasa reached into her pocket and quickly pulled out her pink cell phone and readied herself to send a text message. She informed, "I'm gonna text Kona-chan so she knows you're home and safe."

Before Tsukasa could start typing the message, her sister's hand stretched out and covered the phone. Tsukasa looked up and saw Kagami with a serious expression on her face that was followed up by her shaking her head. The younger twin was able to read her sister's body language and she slowly put it back in her pocket. Whatever Kagami wanted to say to her, it was clear that it was important to her and it needed to be expressed now.

"Now first off, I want you to know how much I love you, Tsukasa, and I'm so sorry for slapping you." Kagami began emotionally. "I'll be the first to admit that I'm pretty messed up and that I've done a lot of…horrible things so far. But I'm going to get better."

Tsukasa's smile nearly exploded. "Re…really, sis?!"

Kagami nodded. "But I'm going to need your help."

"Of course! I'll do anything for you, Kagami! I love you so much and I just want us to be a family again! That's all I want!" Tsukasa happily exclaimed in a mess of joyous tears. "Mom and dad have been talking about different rehab resorts for you and we've been seeing a family therapist so you can come with us to the next appointment! I'll be right there holding your hand every step of the way and I'll never let you know another lonely day ever again!"

As Tsukasa was bursting with eccentric enthusiasm, Kagami remained cold and clammy towards her sister. She slowly looked up and replied, "I'm afraid I cannot and I will not do any of that, Tsukasa."

Tsukasa's hopes were iced when she heard her sister retort this way but nonetheless continued to sit and listen to her.

"Tsukasa…I have a problem…and I'm going to take care of it on my own. I can't do this if I have mom and dad or Inori or some shrink breathing down my neck all the time. I promise you I can do this…but I need your help. You cannot tell mom and dad or anyone else for that matter that I'm back home." Kagami said, making Tsukasa gasp. "There's also going to have to be a few changes around here if I'm going to get better. Every now and then from now on, you're going to hear some very strange sounds coming from my room and sometimes you'll also probably hear me making some of those…strange sounds. So from now on, whenever you hear _anything_ coming from my room, do not, under _any _circumstances, go in there. Understand?"

It was Kagami's strictness and firmness in her voice that penetrated deep into Tsukasa's head and it even frightened her. She wanted to believe that her sister was telling her the truth and that she truly wanted to get clean. Because of how much she loved and respected Kagami, she reluctantly agreed to not only hide her from the rest of the family, but to also stay out of her room whenever she heard anything bizarre. Tsukasa still had no idea that she was being manipulated by her drug-addicted sister who was feeding off her trust so Kagami could not only continue her drug abuse privately in her room and have a comfortable place to stay once in awhile, but also turn it into a place to host her prostitution activities.

"Sis…I want to help you…but could you please tell me…why can't I go in your room? What if I have a bad dream again? I'll be scared and alone." Tsukasa's innocent voice even dropped hints of fear over the new requests from Kagami.

Kagami gulped. "No Tsukasa, I cannot tell you why. Just please, take my word for it."

_The last thing I want to do is give her more reasons to go to therapy which is what'll happen if she goes in there when I'm with a client._

Tsukasa mimicked Kagami's gulp and she had to admit that she was now scared. Regardless, her aching heart so desperately wanted Kagami back in its life that she blindly and naively believed that Kagami was establishing these new rules for her own safety and that they would further her sister's quest of self-recovery.

"Oh…okay…are there…are there any others?" Tsukasa weakly asked.

Kagami nodded. "If I tell you to leave me alone or not to talk to me or even not to look at me, I expect you to do just that. My…recovery and withdrawal…will be very ugly things so the last thing I want to do is to say or do something to you that I'll later regret."

Tsukasa's heart and soul continued to cringe with pain as she began to tremble. "Do something…to me? You mean…hurt me again?"

"It is possible…or worse." Kagami's voice suddenly changed and dropped a bitter vibe, once again frightening the youngest Hiiragi.

Tsukasa slowly raised her hands up and began to play with her fingers to combat her rising nerves. "Sis…please don't hurt me again. I love you and I just want to help you. I would do anything for you."

Kagami saw that she had established enough new ground rules for tonight and that she needed Tsukasa's blind innocence and trust in order for her to keep living her sordid lifestyle. The twin-tailed girl was able to keep her manipulative persona going by returning to her former self and gave comfort to Tsukasa. She opened her arms and Tsukasa wasted no time in crawling over to her and Kagami held Tsukasa tightly in her lap while the youngest continued to sob both in conflicted happiness and uncertainty. For now she had Kagami home and that was all she cared about. The twin-tailed girl continued to rock her sister and hum for her until Tsukasa fell asleep in Kagami's arms, just as she wanted.

When Tsukasa was completely out, Kagami gently rested her body on the soft floor and covered her with a blanket and propped her head on a pillow. Kagami then began to move throughout the house and she began eyeing all the lamps and lights in the house. She unscrewed some of the light bulbs and carried them with her back to the foyer, where the jacket closet also stood. Before Tsukasa rounded the corner earlier to see her sister again, she didn't notice that as soon as Kagami entered, she quickly threw a black bag into the closet to hide it. Kagami abruptly retrieved it and carried it and the light bulbs into her room.

She quickly sat on the bed and dropped the light bulbs in the drawer of her nightstand and curled into a ball as she sat on her bed. Knowing that she could drop the act, she began breathing deeply as the acts she committed throughout the day continued to replay before her eyes like an unholy slideshow. She rocked back and forth while pulling her knees tighter to her chest and didn't notice that she was beginning to drool on herself as a result of her heavy breathing through her gritted teeth.

"Seventeen men. I let seventeen men fuck me today." Kagami hissed to herself while exhaling loudly. "Sometimes Yuka would be involved in the acts…sometimes she would just sit back and watch it happen to me. My privates…I can't feel them anymore. They're numb…just like me. It's okay though. It's okay…it's okay…it's okay…it's okay…it's okay…it's okay. It's okay because I have you now. My best friend…"

Kagami turned her attention back to the bag and quickly unzipped it, revealing an incredible bounty of drugs filling the entire bag and making it incredibly heavy to carry. Small baggies of crack, cocaine, and heroin sat in the bag and were accompanied by syringes, as well as prescription bottles filled to the top with ecstasy, LSD, and other hallucinogens and narcotics. A new drug that was introduced to Kagami today was also sitting in different bags and Kagami scooped it up and held it to her face and stared in admiring awe of the diamond-like rocks known as crystal meth.

A twisted and frightening smile formed across her face as she fished in her bag and retrieved a glass pipe and lighter to commence her drug abuse. Kagami opened her bedroom window and took a seat below it and began to pour the rocks into her pipe. Before she started the ugly process all over again, she unzipped her tracksuit top and took it off, revealing her dark clothes that were stained by a dried liquid and she also removed her pants, allowing her black and red skirt to dangle freely and reveal the discolored marks on her legs drifting upwards towards her private parts. She once again lit up and started breathing in the toxic smoke the drugs produced and exhaled it upward and let the breeze carry it away.

Kagami's dysfunction deepened and would only get worse.

As she felt her high returning, Kagami whispered to herself, "I'm high, dirty, smell terrible because of those perverts, and I'm manipulating my twin sister so I can keep doing these things…and yet…why am I starting to like it so much…?"


	18. Chapter 18

CHAPTER 17

Kagami nearly screamed out in her bed as she felt the lower half of her body get set ablaze as she struggled to keep her balance on her hands and knees on her mattress. She quickly buried her face in her pillow and vocalized the burning sensation she felt and it was over again. She rested her sweating body on her bed and breathed deeply in exhaustion as another human slumped down from behind her, also naked, sweaty, and exhausted. Kagami had just finished entertaining another strange man in her room, one who was also married and had a family of his own.

The twin-tailed girl continued to breathe deeply to try and recover from the faux intimate encounter but her senses quickly spiked when she felt the man try to snuggle closer to her. She quickly sprung up while covering herself with her bed sheet and hissed quietly, "Hey, hey, hey, I'm not your goddamn wife! If you want to cuddle that'll cost you extra seeing as how I already polished your fucking knob!"

Kagami had to admit to herself though that this one was pretty cute. He was in his mid-thirties with long brown hair and a well-toned body but she was still disgusted by the fact that he was so easily able to have sex with her despite the fact that he was married and had a baby boy. Kagami couldn't help but notice that he didn't even bother taking his wedding ring off before the ordeal.

"Sorry," he replied and looked at his watch, reading six o'clock in the morning. "Shit is that what time it is? I need to get going."

"That'll be twenty thousand yen." Kagami snapped, still hugging herself tightly and glaring at the floor, almost too ashamed to look at her latest customer.

Kagami still kept her back turned and began to shiver when she heard the client dig his wallet out of his back pants pocket and fish through the rows of paper inside. He dropped the money next to Kagami, who was barely able to look at it at first as the man continued to get redressed. He finished putting his buttoned shirt on, followed by his expensive suit jacket and he fastened his tie around his neck.

"Thanks for that. I really needed it before I make my proposal to my company today." He said as he tied his shoes while still sitting on Kagami's bed, who still refused to look at him. "I bet you're wondering what someone like me is doing with…someone like you."

Kagami lifted her head up and felt her rage boil when he referenced her as "someone like her," as if she was less than a person. She shook her head and replied, "No, I'm not. Get out of my house."

"Okay…it's just that my wife has been very frigid since our son was born and I try to help her but she keeps pushing me away and—" he began.

"I said I don't care. Leave now. Or pay for another round." Kagami bit, trying to keep her shivering under control.

The man sighed and left Kagami's room quietly. The twin-tailed girl knew that nobody was up yet so her latest customer was safe and the next noise she heard was the sound of his car driving away. She continued to sit on the edge of her bed while keeping herself wrapped tightly in her bed sheet and thought about the customers she had been entertaining over the past few days. It never ceased to amaze Kagami how many of her customers were married men, most of whom appeared so happy on the surface when they were in public with their wives and kids. It only furthered Kagami's confirmation that life itself was never as it appeared and that everyone had their own baggage behind closed doors. She herself was proof of that and even she knew it by this point.

"I guess this makes me a home wrecker too…like I give a fuck." Kagami snapped as she snatched the money and scooted over to her nightstand and pulled the drawer open. She dropped the latest addition into her new and impressively large bank account that was totaling close to what the average person made in a year. She planned to spend every last cent on more drugs.

When Kagami closed her nightstand drawer again, she began to feel different. During her latest prostitution gig, she was completely numb and the fresh memories of the perverted and squalid things she let that man do to her felt like an endless abyss of euphoria. The drugs allowed her to feel that instead of being able to see her acts for what they truly were and the mounting toll it was physically taking on her body. Probably worst of all, the drugs continued to portray Yuka Miyakawa and her cousin Ryuji Katsumoto as the best things that ever happened to her. Even when Miyakawa forced ecstasy down Kagami's throat and it could be debated that she also assisted in Kagami's rape, the twin-tailed girl still could only see Miyakawa as a beautiful person, both in and out. When she told Kagami that she was beautiful and that she loved her, the drugs made Kagami believe that she was beginning to find true love with the depraved sociopath. All that was beginning to fade and she needed to get high again before reality really hit home.

Kagami suddenly heard commotion outside and knew her family was up for the morning. She sat and waited on her bed for a few minutes and heard her mother downstairs shifting pots and pans around to start breakfast and could also hear the television set on a morning news show. This confirmed for Kagami that Tsukasa was still keeping her concealed from the rest of the family as she promised she would the previous night since no one was knocking on her door or forcing their way in so Kagami concluded she could start her morning regiment of drugs to make her forget about the fact that she let some sex-starved stranger contaminate her on her own bed in her own family's home.

Kagami melted down more heroin in a singed spoon, sucked it into a syringe, and tied a tourniquet around her arm. She slid the needle into her vein when she found it and pushed down on the plunger, sending the liquid into her body. As the familiar and always beloved sensation returned to her body, Kagami suddenly felt a painful pinch on her arm. She looked down at the source and saw the needle was still dug into her vein and to her shock and terror, a greenish black bruise was beginning to form around the needle.

She quickly pulled the syringe out, trying not to scream in the process and her arm's muscles began to constrict around the vein; it almost felt like they were caving in all around her injection spot and it was painful. Kagami gripped her arm as she gritted her teeth and even bit through her lower lip, drawing a bit of blood. The painful burst lasted very briefly until it subsided and Kagami's arm tingled as if it was asleep and it continued to scare her. Trying to quell her rising panic, her cell phone vibrated as a new text message arrived.

She crawled back to her nightstand, too afraid to use her bruised arm and took the phone and saw Yuka Miyakawa had texted her. Kagami opened the phone and read the brief message.

_Are you coming to watch me dance tonight?_

Kagami quickly disregarded the message and took a quick picture of her bruise with her phone and sent it back to Miyakawa with a demand to know what was happening to her. The twin-tailed girl counted literally every second that passed and the anticipation was killing her. She had no idea what was happening to her and for all she knew, her arm was going to have to be amputated or worse she could die. Her phone barely had time to finish its alert more than a minute after Kagami sent the message and she quickly opened it to read the reply.

_It's just a collapsed vein, dear. Not as bad as it sounds. It'll go away on its own. Just don't inject anymore there and come to Teasers. _

Kagami breathed a deep sigh of relief when Miyakawa told her it wasn't as bad as it sounded. Still, it looked horrifying and Kagami's paranoia fed her fear. She dreaded that at any second a piece of dead tissue inside her arm would break off and travel through her bloodstream to her heart and kill her. For now, Kagami thought it wise to simply sit and keep massaging her arm until the tingling would go away and she tried to keep herself calm. The only thing she could do in her mind to make her feel better was more drugs, which was what she began when she reached into her nightstand drawer again and pulled out one of the light bulbs she unscrewed the previous night.

She was able to pry off the electrical contact at the bottom of the bulb and pull out the filaments inside, leaving just a hollow glass shell. Kagami then used her newfound knowhow that Ryuji taught her and she turned the light bulb into an improvised crack pipe with a hollowed pen as the mouthpiece inserted into the electrical contact hole to inhale the smoke. She poured more of the rocks into the bulb before reinserting the pen and she took her lighter to the glass shell.

Before she could light it though, she heard someone walk up the stairs and was approaching her door. Her heart began to pound and she felt herself tighten as she held the improvised crack pipe to her chest and braced herself to be discovered. However, her doorknob didn't turn. Instead, someone on the other side got to their knees and slid a piece of paper underneath the door. It was Tsukasa outside.

Kagami slowly took the paper and read the brief message.

_Mom is making breakfast. Can I bring you something?_

Kagami glared at the simple question and gesture from her sister and was considering tearing the door open and smashing the improvised crack pipe over Tsukasa's head. Instead, she grabbed a pen and wrote her reply despite the pain in her arm and slid it back under the door. When Tsukasa took the message and read it, Kagami could hear a faint sniffle and it was followed up by the sounds of Tsukasa's feet carrying her away.

As Kagami was finally able to light up and begin smoking crack again, the returning high blurred her vision of the man from earlier paying to have sex with her in a position his wife never wanted and it also numbed any guilt Kagami would have in writing the message she did for Tsukasa. It was a polite retort in her drug-addicted mind.

_No I don't want anything. Get the fuck out of here now!_

While she sat there like the budding feeble pile of waste that she was turning herself into, Kagami suddenly remembered Miyakawa's first text message to her. It asked her if she was planning on going to Teasers tonight to watch her perform one of her infamous stripping routines that usually included an "auction" for her and she would take the highest bidder to one of the underground rooms for a one-on-one rendezvous. Once again, all of this was her idea.

After Kagami was numbed from serving seventeen men over the course of three hours the other day, Miyakawa took the borderline catatonic girl and showed her the ropes to the art of pole dancing and stripping. Kagami watched Miyakawa give examples but she was unable to get the twin-tailed girl to reveal her own moves. For whatever reason, Kagami would still fight a new culture shock every time she would be faced with one but sooner or later she would always cave. It all started with the drinking and it only went downhill from there with the drugs, stealing, and sexual encounters. In the back of Kagami's fogged mind, she knew that she would inevitably be swinging from one of those poles and taking her clothes off for more cash to fuel her addictions.

She sighed as she took another drag on her makeshift crack pipe. Kagami decided that she would go and watch Miyakawa dance and more than likely prostitute herself once again, thus continuing to lead Kagami over the edge with her. The twin-tailed girl still didn't know what the conniving psychopath that was Yuka Miyakawa was capable of. She knew that Miyakawa wanted her to stay with them and continue this truculent lifestyle, but she still had no clue how far she was willing to go to make sure the former Miko would stay. Unbeknownst to Kagami, when she was having her encounters with the seventeen men, whose ages ranged from twenty to sixty-five, Miyakawa was playing with Kagami's cell phone.

So far Miyakawa had a list of Kagami's closest friends, including several pictures of Kagami with her fraternal twin, Tsukasa. Even though Miyakawa never met Tsukasa, the depraved girl knew that Tsukasa was a threat to her as the pictures showed. In every picture, Kagami looked so happy and confident with Tsukasa; something that Miyakawa simply couldn't allow. Slowly but surely, Yuka Miyakawa was forming another sinister plan to take care of Tsukasa and destroy Kagami's relationship with not only her, but the rest of her family forever, even if it meant that innocent blood had to be shed.

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As the day wore on, Tsukasa made good on her promise to keep Kagami's newly reestablished residential status in the Hiiragi household a secret. However, it wasn't without its own burdens on her. Tsukasa was being forced to lie for Kagami's drug addiction, a mathematical equation that couldn't compute in her mind nor did she want it to. She was trying to convince herself that she was helping Kagami and that her older twin would never do anything to manipulate her. Tsukasa thought that lying in general was bad but to lie to her family about inadvertently enabling her sister's drug problem? Whenever these thoughts came to mind, she just kept trying to convince herself that Kagami still loved her and that she promised her that she would get clean. She just hoped it wasn't going to end like the last promise she made.

As Tsukasa fought her own uphill mental battles in silence, Inori later found herself in the therapist's office, though she was going in defiantly but still willingly as a result of the endless respect and love she had for her mother. Inori thought that because she was the oldest of the Hiiragi daughters, she would be able to control every aspect of her conversation with Dr. Kishimoto. She was in for a surprise.

"I can tell you have a lot on your mind, Inori-san." Dr. Kishimoto said politely with a smile as the two sat in her office.

Inori tried her best to remain polite during this ordeal but couldn't help but sigh as her opening retort. "Well, Dr. Kishimoto, I do. I do have a lot on my mind. I want to say that I'm very disappointed with the way things are going. I'm disappointed in my home life, how it's all affecting my family, and regarding the fact that all of this is going to hurt my family's status. The last thing I ever wanted was for us to be stuck with the label of having someone with a mental disorder in our family."

Dr. Kishimoto nodded as she wrote on her pad. "I understand exactly where you're coming from, especially your stance on mental illness. It is quite a rocky path that leads to a lot of stigma, but I do believe that society is getting better at this issue."

Inori remained pessimistic. "I don't know. Everywhere I look it just seems that mental illness is lampooned in all instances, especially in the entertainment world. Whenever people think of mental illness they usually think of people screaming in padded rooms while wrestling with their straitjackets. This is especially true with media and television shows."

"I share your beliefs, Inori-san," Dr. Kishimoto continued and removed her glasses to rub her eyes. When she resettled them on her face, she continued. "Do you believe that your sister will be ostracized or branded for life by society because of what she's going through or what she might have?"

Inori shrugged. "I guess. But may I speculate on something, Dr. Kishimoto?"

She smiled again and nodded. "Of course."

"I can't help but make connections of my own after all of this began with Matsuri's death. Kagami was always fine up until then and now it appears to me that you have been talking about all of these mental disorder possibilities and I'm wondering if this is all just in our heads because you're telling all of this. I've seen these kinds of setups before, Dr. Kishimoto, and with all due respect, I do believe that my sister would've been better off dealing with these _family_ issues with her _family _and not some stranger." Inori said with a bit of hidden hostility in her voice.

Dr. Kishimoto wasn't surprised by the question so much as she was by the fact that it was Inori who asked it. She expected Tadao to ask a question like that first but nevertheless was prepared for it. She cleared her throat and replied, "That is fair to contemplate, yes. However, I must maintain that I have studied these issues for many years and I unfortunately must say that your sister is sick and that your family doesn't have the tools to fully deal with her, especially considering the possibility that Kagami could one day be driven to total madness by all of this."

The psychologist took a personal pause to blame herself once again for Kagami's position and she knew that she was right, especially with the possibility that the twin-tailed Hiiragi could reach a breaking point and suffer a complete mental shutdown. Dr. Kishimoto knew what was happening to Kagami and the kind of evil she was dancing with because she also knew it personally at one point in her life.

"If you believe this to be true, then I have to maintain my previous stance on mental stigma. Yes, I do fear for Kagami's status, and especially Tsukasa's. She's upset enough with Kagami still gone but for us to sit her down and tell her that her big sister is crazy and might need to be locked up in an institution will just devastate her." Inori sighed with remorse. "You've met Tsukasa so you know just as well as the rest of us that she's fragile and would be a wreck without Kagami. I'm also afraid for her future. How would this affect her in college or with a career if this kind of ordeal was made public knowledge? If we were forced to send Kagami to a mental hospital, then you know it would be a public matter because she would be labeled as a threat to society that needs to be isolated like a criminal going to jail."

"You're right about all of that…however, I still must disagree with you when it comes to your stance on stigma." Dr. Kishimoto said with confidence and annoying Inori. "Let me give you another example if I may."

Inori nodded.

"In the 1980s, the AIDS virus became a huge pandemic for the United States of America in all forms whether it was social, political, economical, scientific, you name it. The whole thing was a mess. Lies and conspiracy theories formed surrounding the disease that ranged from people becoming infected with it by eating contaminated food, to simply catching it like it was the common cold." Dr. Kishimoto explained. "Physicians were soon able to isolate the truth and recognize patterns in the types of people AIDS showed up in and the general consensus was the homosexual population. As a result, homosexuals became subjected to unwarranted and illogical persecution by people afraid of the virus; some religious radicals went so far as to call the disease 'God's cure for homosexuality.' There's even a story about a man who was infected with AIDS who lived in West Virginia and during this time, he visited the community pool of his own hometown and when he got in, it sent the entire pool and town into a panic. People believed that he had infected their children with AIDS because he was in the same swimming pool as them and he was ostracized from his own town and even his own family."

Inori sat and kept listening.

"It was a dark time for social equality in the United States but my point is this; societies naturally evolve with time. Back in the 80s, AIDS was instantly labeled as being attached with homosexuality and many innocent gay people were ostracized and made into pariahs. As society evolved and more knowledge was made public, AIDS became symbolic with repeated drug use and unprotected sex in general. Today, homosexuality is widely considered to be a part of normalcy and is for the most part met with acceptance. Believe it or not, up until 1973, homosexuality was still considered a mental illness by the American Psychiatric Association. Only five years later, a politician in San Francisco named Harvey Milk became the first openly gay person to be elected into public office in California's history." Dr. Kishimoto added. "I believe that societies are naturally evolving with time and progression and that there will come a time where people suffering from mental illnesses will be accepted and there will be better treatments for them. Proof of that already exists with Autism for another example. Twenty years ago, people had no idea what that was but today, there are support groups, charities, specially trained doctors, all that stuff. Will people always be persecuted for being gay or being a different race or even having a mental illness? Regrettably so. There will always be _that _person or _that _group of people that cannot or will not understand because they're either too damn stupid or too damn ignorant to figure it out. However, as I've been saying, societies naturally evolve, as do people. Tell me Inori-san, what do you think of what I have told you?"

Inori kept her frozen stance while breathing in stunned silence. She darted her eyes around several times and replied, "I…I think we need to get Kagami better…and we'll need your help…"

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Kagami returned to Teasers later that day as the sun on this day began to set and she knocked on the front door, only to be met with the sound of firearms loading again on the other side. She quickly remembered the codename Miyakawa gave her to memorize and Kagami exclaimed, "It's me, Babbie! I'm here for Jezebel!"

The door soon opened and Kagami breezed past the muscular guards who concealed their weapons again and entered the strip club. Kagami still didn't know the full meaning of her codename assigned to her by Miyakawa but she didn't exactly care anymore. Babbie was short for Babylon, which was a broader term for the biblical figure known as The Whore of Babylon, probably the most depraved and sordid figure in the Bible. That was how Miyakawa viewed Kagami and she wanted her to be treated as such.

More men were here this time and it was still filling up with anticipation for Yuka Miyakawa's show. Other girls were already dancing at other pole stations in skimpy lingerie while men fed them money, but the main stage with the drawn curtains was still unoccupied as strobe lights, disco lights, pulsating music, and the fog machine added to the loose activities. It was the center stage that was reserved for the best and most popular dancer, which was Miyakawa. She was the "grand finale" so to speak.

Kagami quickly rushed to the backroom where the changing room was and was lost in a sea of other girls, each one loosely dressed in lingerie, some with costumes, while others simply wore their bras and panties. The twin-tailed girl found Miyakawa towards the back sitting at a table with a mirror and painting her face a bright white color and she sat also in nothing but her bra and panties. As she approached, Kagami finally noticed Miyakawa's 666 tattoo on her lower back for the first time, as well as others on her back that included a snake coiling around a red rose and the bottom of the flower's stem formed into a dagger blade. On Miyakawa's right bicep just below her shoulder, an image of the grim reaper sitting on a large throne made of human bones while holding his scythe was also visible and Miyakawa finally took notice of Kagami's presence and smiled.

"How's your arm?" Miyakawa asked as Kagami sat down next to her.

Kagami nodded. "It's feeling much better. I was just scared at first when it happened since I didn't know what was happening."

"Good. Just give it a break for awhile and don't worry. There are other places to inject your heroin. You're staying with your parents, right?" Miyakawa asked.

Kagami nodded.

"If I were you I would start sticking those needles in-between your toes to hide any track marks." Miyakawa said while turning and resumed painting her face. "Remember to keep mixing your drug habits up once in a while. We don't want your body to build a tolerance to any of them because then all the effects of their highs will disappear or if you keep using the same one over and over it could lead to an overdose."

Kagami nodded again. "I know. So…about your text…"

Miyakawa's face was completely white and she took a thin brush and dabbed it in black face paint before she replied. "Oh yeah I forgot! When can we get you up on that stage with me? I have a few ideas for some duet dancing and even singing we could do."

The twin-tailed girl gulped. "Look Yuka, I was able to cave and do the sex shit because it was always in private where no one else would see me. If I'm up there…then so many eyes will be on me and my body. I…I was hoping that…that only you would see me that way. And besides, these costumes…they're so embarrassing and degrading."

Miyakawa giggled as she began to pain black vertical lines over her upper and lower lips. "This is one of the highpoints of my job. I love stripping. All those people whistling and screaming my name and telling me how sexy I am and how much they want me…it's great. It makes me feel so empowered and attractive."

"You need strangers to tell you that you're attractive, Yuka? Didn't your parents ever tell you how beautiful you are?" Kagami asked.

Miyakawa froze. She stopped painting her face so abruptly, Kagami thought that she was shot and she couldn't help but look around at the unchanged activity surrounding them and she turned back to Miyakawa. She kept staring with a blank face in the mirror as she held the paint brush to her lips. Just as Kagami became frightened and was about to tap her friend, Miyakawa quickly resumed painting her lips and moved to her eyes. Kagami feared that she may have opened an old wound with Miyakawa as she answered.

"It's not like that, Kagami." Miyakawa replied, still keeping Kagami on guard. "Anyway what I was getting at was stripping is almost better than sex. Almost. At least I can get dressed up while stripping and it makes me feel like a cosplayer."

Kagami's ears perked up when she heard the last word.

_Cosplay? Like Konata? I guess she could look at it like that. I guess…if she's that comfortable with it…then I guess I could try it. When she puts it that way…I guess it'll be like hanging out with Konata…_

As Kagami continued to think about stripping differently, Miyakawa continued to giggle maliciously to herself. She remembered seeing a blue-haired girl in not only Kagami's contact list but also in some pictures and saw that Konata was an avid cosplayer, which Miyakawa didn't give a shit about, but at the same time had no problem using it as leverage to continue sucking Kagami into her world. Miyakawa had sinister thoughts of her own.

_Good…it seems Kagami is starting to consider it. Maybe I'll even be able to replace that blue-haired midget as her BFF._

"And you think that stripping is degrading, Kagami? Let me ask you something. What is degrading about a sexy woman knowing how to use the tools at her disposal to get guys to slide their paychecks down our bras or into our panties?" Miyakawa began to put the finishing touches on her face. "Beautiful ladies like us are the ones who are _really_ in charge of what's going on. We have the sexy bodies so we're the ones who call the shots. Girls like you are so beautiful and attractive that guys and even other girls are clawing over each other just to get a glimpse of you. Like I said before, Kagami, you're beautiful and whatever you're doing whether its diet and exercise, it's working incredibly well. I even overheard some girls talking and saying that they're jealous of your figure and would kill to look like you."

Kagami blushed again as Miyakawa continued to tell her the words she always craved. It was also a flashback to her high school graduation ceremony when Konata said the exact same thing, thus furthering Kagami's consideration to push Konata out of her life and replace her with Miyakawa. The twin-tailed girl couldn't help but giggle lightly and inched closer to Miyakawa and said, "I…I think I would like to try it…if it meant that people would honestly like me…and I think I have a costume at home that would blow everyone's minds. And…and would you…teach me how to dance?"

Miyakawa smiled when her makeup was complete and she turned to Kagami. Her face was still white with black lines over and below her lips resembling stitches and a black vertical line was painted above and below each of her eyes. She looked like a ghost as she smiled a conniving grin and resumed talking to the twin-tailed girl.

"That's great, Kagami, and yes, I'll teach you everything I know." Miyakawa replied.

"How…how about a kiss for good luck?" Kagami asked with a blushing smile and she scooted closer to Miyakawa.

To her surprise, Miyakawa pressed her index finger on Kagami's puckering lips. "I'm afraid not tonight, Kagami. We don't want to smudge my makeup but I'll make it up to you soon enough. Trust me, baby."

Miyakawa's complementing wink sent Kagami's heart into arrhythmia as the dolled-up girl stood and retreated to another room to select her outfit for the evening. Kagami couldn't help but feel cheated, which was exactly how Miyakawa wanted her to feel. Miyakawa was never afraid to be a tease and she knew that Kagami was becoming more accustomed to this world and believed that she could now have everything she wanted with all the money and drugs at her disposal. However, Miyakawa knew that if she used reverse psychology and played hard to get, Kagami would only want to sleep with her more and more as the drugs and false concepts of love and acceptance created by this world would drive the twin-tailed girl. Once Kagami would destroy the remaining principles she had and practically force herself on Miyakawa, then that would be all the proof that Kagami wasn't going anywhere.

Kagami took shelter with Ryuji and Itou Shiraki behind the bar as the night continued to wear on. The twin-tailed girl watched with intrigue at the other dancers at the different pole stations as men continued to drool over them. She noticed that many of the guys were a lot like her customer from this morning; young men dressed nicely and seemed to have a lot going for them. She couldn't really make the connection as to why such handsome and well-groomed men were wasting their lives and money in strip clubs. She always pictured these kinds of places to be filled with older, ugly perverted men with nothing going for them like the man who took her virginity that rainy night.

She was still a novice in some instances to this world but a lot of these young men either came from rich backgrounds or were actual successes in their careers, which would pump up their egos. Some of them believed that they were a hundred feet tall and nothing could touch them. They envisioned themselves as the Zeus's of their times and saw women as merely objects for their desires and entertainment, though Miyakawa was able to put a different spin on it to keep Kagami's interest in it alive. Kagami also spotted a few college athletes in the club, which still baffled her but she couldn't comprehend the fact that a man with a pumped-up ego believed that he could have anything he wanted, even multiple girlfriends.

"So what do you think of our whole establishment, Kagami?" Ryuji asked her as Kagami sat at the bar and Ryuji sat next to her.

Kagami glanced at him and looked away. "It's quite an establishment, I'll grant you that. So it's like this all the time? You don't worry about real world issues or challenges? You just reap in the cash and do drugs all day?"

Ryuji nodded. "We figure that you only live once so why the fuck should we cater to what society says we should do? I mean, you're still going to college in the fall, aren't you? We couldn't do that because we'd be just like the rest of the slaves of the world. We want our freedoms and to live the way we want to. We'll miss you though, Kagami."

Ryuji was working in tandem with his cousin when he said that they'd miss Kagami when she would leave for college. He was playing reverse psychology by implying that Kagami would inevitably leave them and kick all her drug habits away to deal with her problems in a more mainstream manner. The tactic was beginning to work as Kagami's body language showed she didn't want to leave anymore. Kagami had done all these things and yet she was still expected to go to college and work hard while still dealing with all the mental anguish over Matsuri and Misao. She had to admit to herself that she no longer wanted to do that. Not after she was introduced to a world that could somehow magically take all her pain away, as long as she always had something to smoke, inject, or snort. The twin-tailed girl was lost in the moment and vibrant activity in the strip club and the last of her conscience became icy.

Kagami muttered something but the pulsing bass music sounding throughout the strip club buried it.

"What was that, Kagami?!" Ryuji exclaimed.

Kagami muttered it again.

"I'm sorry but I still can't hear you! You're gonna have to speak up!"

"I said that I…that I…that I don't want to go to college! I want to stay here with you guys and live the way you guys live! I want the drugs! I want to steal and fuck for the money! I want to dance with Yuka and show off what my mother gave me…and for it to be my income!"

Ryuji formed a small smile and turned back to Itou serving another drink to a customer, who also had a smile on his face and he nodded. He looked at his watch just in time to see it strike midnight and now the grand finale of the night was about to commence. The rest of the girls stopped dancing and the regular attendees began whistling while rushing towards the center stage to get the best seat as they knew what was coming next.

Itou shut the music off and turned the lights off, making it go dark in Teasers as the men crowding around the center stage deepened their whistling. Itou started a new song, took a microphone and announced, "All right gentlemen, its midnight so I have to ask everyone one question. Who is this irresistible creature who has an insatiable love for the dead?"

"Living dead girl!" The hoard of men screamed together, and the chaos once again resumed.

The speakers throughout the club erupted with Rob Zombie's song "Living Dead Girl" and the curtains at the center stage suddenly opened when the thunderous music tore through Teasers. A spotlight shined on Yuka Miyakawa who had her back turned to the crowd and she was wearing her outfit. She wore black high heel shoes with her legs wrapped in fishnet stockings that drifted upward until garter straps connected them to her black g-string. Her belly was exposed that showed her pierced navel and her top was wrapped in a black and gray bra and the icing on the cake was a pair of black feathery wings attached to her back and her hair was tied up in two short pigtails, reminding Kagami of the time she used to switch hairstyles with Tsukasa.

The men whistled and cheered for her as she waltzed onto the center stage and approached the pole. As the music continued to build up to the lyrics, Miyakawa latched onto the pole and rested her back against it with her arms holding the pole above her head. She gently began to shake her buttocks as her opening until the song reached the lyrics. She quickly spun around the pole and was able to slide upward on it and wrapped her legs tighter around it until she balanced herself upside-down. She continued to motion and wave her arms in an artistic form and she dangled upright and began to outstretch her arm to resemble the black wings behind her as the song approached a pivotal point.

"Defunct the strings of cemetery things with one flat foot on the devil's…_wing!_" The song exclaimed, leaving Yuka Miyakawa with her legs wrapped around the pole and hovering above the stage with all the spotlights and eyes on her and her arms stretched out like wings.

The club was sent into an uproar as Miyakawa slid down the pole and continued to dance around it and perform more acrobatic maneuvers until she got down on her hands and knees and began to crawl towards them piles of drooling men who held wads of cash in their hands. She sat up on her knees while rubbing her hands gently across her body with a look of pure arousal on her painted face that also showed a teeth-bearing smile.

Her eyes drifted through the sea of screaming men who were desperately trying to grab her attention with the hundreds of thousands of yen bills they held in their hands. It didn't take long for her to find a customer she believed had enough money and she outstretched her hand, allowing him to take it and she pulled him onto the stage, deepening the crowd's roars as Miyakawa led the man backstage just as the song ended, which was followed by relentless applause as Kagami watched the whole thing from beginning to end.

She had never seen anyone go that berserk over a girl dancing for them before, but of course she knew that Miyakawa was going to let the selected customer have his way with her in the process but she wasn't even considering that. Kagami was drawn to the attention Miyakawa was given and she made up her mind. She wanted to be up on stage and she had the perfect outfit in mind that would drive everyone crazy.


	19. Chapter 19

CHAPTER 18

Breakfast the next morning at the Hiiragi house was once again met with uncomfortable and painful silence. As hard as they tried, they couldn't simply forget about Kagami's disappearance since her fight with her parents that resulted in the infamous slap on Tsukasa. However, Miki, Tadao, and Inori were still completely oblivious to the fact that Kagami had come home recently and was prostituting herself in their home. Tsukasa was still keeping her disgruntled sister a secret from them, a pattern that was wearing out its welcome for the youngest Hiiragi girl.

Miki's intuition took over when she saw her youngest daughter push her food around on her plate with a sad look on her face. "Honey you haven't touched your eggs at all. Is there something wrong with them?"

Tsukasa quickly looked up and shook her head in a borderline panic. "No, no, no, they're fine, mom! It's just that…I uh…still miss Kagami."

Everyone easily sympathized with Tsukasa's words and could also relate. Miki however could see something more in her youngest daughter. She easily saw Tsukasa's depression but she also saw hints of guilt in her eyes. Of all the members of the Hiiragi household, Tsukasa was the purest and most innocent of them so she should be the last person feeling guilt.

"Is everything okay, Tsukasa? You look like something's bothering you. Is there anything else you want to talk about?" Miki continued to pry.

Tsukasa quickly shook her head again while throwing beads of sweat in the process. "No, mom, I'm fine. But…but I do have one question."

"What is it, dear?"

"Do…do you think that Kagami could…could…could beat these issues she has on her own?" Tsukasa weakly asked. "Do you think that she's strong and smart enough to get off drugs without rehab or therapy?"

It was an oddly specific question coming from Tsukasa. She would normally ask her where Kagami was or if she was to blame for her drug addiction. For her to go to a direct question regarding the foreseeable future was unusual and the family treated it as such. Miki and Tadao looked at each other and to Inori, sending each other body language before they could reply to Tsukasa. Inori merely shrugged to show that she didn't know what prompted Tsukasa to ask that either so Miki had to do more digging.

"What makes you ask that?"

Tsukasa's tells were being revealed to the family as her sweating and shallow breathing continued before she replied. "No…no reason. I just…I just want to believe in sis. I don't want her to be taken away from me and be put in some horrible institution. I couldn't bear to see her in a place like that."

Tsukasa did her best to keep her tears in her head but it proved impossible when the idea of losing her sister to a system became too real to her. Miki outstretched her hand and held her youngest daughter's in hers and did her best to reassure her but at the same time keep her in reality.

"We're going to do everything we can, but to answer your question…no. I do not believe Kagami is capable of making the right decisions on her own anymore. She's too addicted to drugs at this point to think clearly or logically. The only thing that's on her mind is getting her next fix so unfortunately we cannot trust her." Miki said with remorse. "If you see her or if she ever comes home, please try and get her to stay so we can get her into therapy. If she says she's clean or if she says she wants only you and nobody else to help her, then don't believe her. I believe that she'll only use you to keep doing drugs."

Tsukasa's heart clenched and she struggled to keep herself from crying loudly upon hearing her mother's theory on the matter. The youngest Hiiragi girl didn't want to see it but Kagami was using her and manipulating her for shelter to enable her drug addictions and sexual transactions. Tsukasa found herself in the middle of a situation that nobody deserved, especially her. She was torn between her own mother and her own sister. Which one was telling her the truth? Which one could she ultimately trust? If Tsukasa listened to her mother, it meant that Kagami was sick and it could lead to her being taken away from her, but if Tsukasa listened to Kagami, it could lead to her getting better or it could lead to her becoming more sick and addicted. Either way, Tsukasa was in a lose-lose situation.

"Why do you ask, Tsukasa?" Inori interjected.

Tsukasa quickly shook her head and instinctively tried to think of another lie to cover for her sister. "I uh, I just…I just want to make sure that we use all means to help Kagami. I don't want her taken away from me."

Tadao nodded. "We understand, Tsukasa, but I want you to know that it might have to come to that and if it does, we're going to need you to be very brave for us."

Tsukasa nodded meekly. "O…Okay…"

When breakfast was over, Miki continued with her household chores and started a load of laundry, though it was met with depression because most of the things in the hamper belonged to Kagami that hadn't been washed yet. Regardless, Miki started the cycle and returned to the kitchen. Next she began washing the dishes and turned a light switch on to trigger a light above her head to see better, only to be answered by darkness. She looked up and assumed the light bulb burned out so she took a stepstool and unscrewed the decorative glass cover but was surprised to find the light bulb was gone. Still unaware of Kagami's new street skills, Miki assumed the bulb burned out and someone threw it out without replacing it.

As she walked towards a pantry where she kept the spare bulbs, she heard Inori say from the living room, "What happened to all the light bulbs in here?"

"Are they burned out?" Miki called.

"No, they're all gone." Inori replied.

It was now clear to Miki that she had a mystery on her hands. It was more strange than alarming and she scratched her head while digging through her supply pantry and found the remaining light bulbs.

"We only have two left so I'll have to go to the store to get more. I guess I could also pick up a few groceries while I'm out." Miki replied and prepared to leave the house as Inori came into the kitchen again.

"Let me go with you. There are a few things I need to pick up for myself." Inori said and the two women left the house together to go to their local grocery store, leaving Tadao and Tsukasa alone, though that didn't last much longer.

Tadao informed Tsukasa that he had to go to the hardware store to pick up some supplies to clean the shrine and that he would be gone for a few hours. Tsukasa once again reassured him that she would be fine by herself for the time he would be gone and the youngest Hiiragi was once again on her own. It still wasn't getting any easier but of course she would never tell her family that. She was still selfless and only thinking about her family over herself and knew that things were tense enough in her home without adding her own emotional feelings to the mix. She decided to simply sit in the kitchen with the unbearable isolation as her only companion. The only worthwhile thing she could do was throw the washed clothes into the dryer when she heard the washing machine ding and she could only return to the kitchen after that.

Tsukasa still didn't know that Kagami was out of the house and had been since the previous night. She was still unaware that her sister had begun her career as a prostitute and was also soon about to add stripper to her mounting resume of dysfunction and shame. Tsukasa still couldn't comprehend why all of this was happening to her family or why it had to be her idol that was on the receiving end of it. Because of her innocence, she couldn't understand the full depth of the guilt that Kagami felt and how brutal it was. It was so terrible for Kagami that these drugs were like enchanted substances that took pain and guilt away as if it was as easy as waving a magic wand.

The more Kagami dove into the drugs they not only numbed her pain, they also opened up whole new worlds for her. Though as perverse and immoral as they were, the drugs were able to make them seem appealing and opportunistic. Kagami felt never-ending euphoria and even empowerment when she let all those corrupt men defile her body and make her perform such revolting sex acts for them. The drugs also hindered her ability to see not only the mental damage, but also the impending physical damage that it was going to take on her body later down the road. The very idea of acquiring a sickness or having a certain organism grow inside her as a result didn't even register in her mind.

Tsukasa missed Matsuri and even Misao on a daily basis too, but she never even for one second considered drug use as a means of escape. Her innocent mind was able to protect her from such concepts and she believed that her family and their values were the entities that would see her through this ordeal. Kagami was her twin and everything that was pure and righteous that Tsukasa was exposed to Kagami was too so why did they go down two completely separate paths? The only answer Tsukasa could conclude was that despite the fact that they were twins, they were still two different people and each had their own views on pain and how to deal with it. In a way, knowing that they would be different in that area, Tsukasa couldn't help but feel less innocent as a result.

The front door opened and quickly closed again, making Tsukasa believe that one of her family members had returned home, though it was a little quicker than she had expected. She suddenly jumped and shrieked when Kagami once again rounded the corner and was wearing the same blue tracksuit, but it was her face that made the youngest Hiiragi yelp. Kagami's face was covered with so much makeup that Tsukasa didn't recognize her at first and thought a stranger was in her home. When Kagami became irritated and shushed her sister, Tsukasa recognized the voice and was able to see beneath all the blush, eyeliner, lipstick, eye shadow, and curled eyelashes.

"Sis…is that you?! I thought you were upstairs!" Tsukasa exclaimed as she breathed deeply in her post-shriek.

"I was until last night. I was out with friends so I need you to do me a favor." Kagami hissed.

Tsukasa cringed. "Sis…I don't want to keep doing this. I'm lying to mom and dad and Inori. I want to trust you, but mom told me not to because she said you would use me to do more drugs. You wouldn't do a horrible thing like that to me, would you?"

Kagami glared at Tsukasa which scared her more and the twin-tailed girl disregarded her sister's concern and continued talking. "I need you to go outside and not come back in for at least two minutes."

Tsukasa gave a confused and frightened face to Kagami. "…Why, Kagami?"

"Do what I say!" Kagami shrieked, making the frightened Tsukasa jump and she began crying and shaking.

"Kagami please stop making me do these things. I love you and I just want you to be happy and healthy and I don't want to keep lying to our family." Tsukasa whimpered as she took a tear away and slowly approached her sister who was becoming angrier. "Please open up to me. Please let me help you. Please tell me that you're not using me and that you're getting clean in your room…"

As Tsukasa opened her arms and tried to hug her sister, Kagami's drug-driven rage took over. The twin-tailed girl quickly grabbed her sister's arms and using all her strength, threw Tsukasa against the wall and pinned her there while gripping Tsukasa's limbs tighter and tighter. The youngest Hiiragi girl cried in terror and pain as Kagami stood over her and reared the look of an angry animal as she moved her mouth to Tsukasa's ear.

"You listen to me and you listen good. I want you to get the fuck out of this house and no matter what you hear coming from my room, do not come in or I will seriously fuck you up! Do you hear me Tsukasa?!" Kagami screamed her last sentence in Tsukasa's ear and shook her, making her trembling sister cry loudly.

Tsukasa could barely grasp her surroundings as the bruises began to form on her arms. "Sis, please! I love you! Please let me go, it hurts! You're hurting me!"

Kagami released her fragile sister, who quickly fell to the floor and retracted into a ball and cried loudly. Tsukasa hid her face from her sister as she let the tears fall down her face and splash on the floor. The twin-tailed girl stood above her sobbing sister and couldn't feel any sympathy for her, especially since Kagami viewed Tsukasa as a roadblock to her being able to sneak another client into her room. Still gritting her teeth with vicious rancor, Kagami bent down and latched onto Tsukasa's hair with her tight grip and pulled her head up, making Tsukasa cry louder.

"If I have to drag you out of this house kicking and screaming I will now get on your fucking feet!" Kagami shouted at her and pulled her up by her hair. Tsukasa struggled to her feet and stumbled as Kagami callously pulled Tsukasa by her hair towards the back door.

"Sis it hurts so much! Please let me go! Why are you doing this to me?! They'll take you away from me if you keep doing these terrible things!" Tsukasa wailed as Kagami led her sister by her hair towards the sliding glass door until Tsukasa's last sentence sank in.

Kagami abruptly stopped pulling on Tsukasa's hair and turned around to face her crying and petrified sister, who still struggled to keep her balance as a result of her terror. Kagami hissed, "What do you mean they'll take me away?"

Tsukasa was so scared of her own protector that it took several attempts to talk but she finally uttered through her crying, "Our…our family therapist…she says that you…that you…are sick. And that you may need to be…put in an institution. A mental hospital…!"

Kagami shifted her eyes and knew this presented a problem for her. Her behavioral patterns were becoming more and more erratic and many would consider them to be mentally defective. If she was forced to go to an institution, all her days of drug usage would be gone and be replaced with the unbearable burdens of reality; something she simply couldn't allow. Kagami quickly turned the tables of her current interaction with Tsukasa and once again began to use her sister as a pawn.

All of Kagami's rage and anger disappeared in the blink of an eye and her face softened into the pattern that Tsukasa recognized. Kagami would always show her this face every time Tsukasa had a bad dream and would show up in Kagami's room in the middle of the night, not wanting to sleep alone. It was a face that showed a slight smile and eyes of a mother hawk watching over its young and Tsukasa always knew she was safe when she saw that face. Kagami slowly lifted her hand and Tsukasa flinched initially but quickly nestled it into her sister's open palm as it touched her cheek. Kagami pulled Tsukasa into a hug and she could feel her trembling sister in the embrace.

"Now, now, Tsukasa…you don't want me to be shipped away to an asylum, do you?" Kagami asked in a disturbingly convincing soft voice, the kind that Miki always spoke in when comforting her children.

Tsukasa still shivered relentlessly in her sister's embrace while letting tears drip from her eyes and was profoundly confused by this situation. Kagami was giving her every reason possible not to trust her, yet Tsukasa was incapable of not trusting her big sister. Kagami was Tsukasa's everything and now it seemed that her everything was attacking and targeting her. Despite the drug intrusion into her family's existence, Tsukasa was still naïve and couldn't make the connection that her sister was sick and that she was using her like a tool. All she knew in her heart was love, not suspicion or even assertion.

"Sis…of course I don't want that to happen…but I'm scared…!" Tsukasa wailed as she trembled. "I don't know why you keep hurting me like this! Mom says not to trust you or believe what you say…but I don't know how! I only know how to love you and to think the world of you! I don't know how to deal with this and I'm scared! What do I do?!"

Kagami slowly disconnected Tsukasa from their hug and she gently held her by the quivering shoulders. "Do you love me, Tsukasa? Do you _honestly_ and _truly_ love me?"

Tsukasa nodded hastily without hesitation while she still cried. "I love you so much, Kagami! You're my hero!"

"Then if that's true, you'll keep all of this between us. You won't tell mom or dad or Inori about me, you'll let me keep coming and going as I please, and you'll leave me to my own self-treatment in my room." Kagami said softly with no anger in her voice. The worst was about to come. Kagami pulled Tsukasa back into a hug and as she rubbed her back, Kagami whispered in a creepily soothing voice, "Because if they do find out and they do try to send me away…I'll never forgive you, Tsukasa. I'll hate you forever…I might even kill myself and I'll go to my grave cursing your name. You'll be responsible for my death…and my hatred for you will continue to burn for all eternity because you didn't love me enough to keep my secrets."

Tsukasa once again began crying loudly, though Kagami remained unresponsive until she broke off their hug while still keeping a comforting hand on Tsukasa's shoulder and opened the sliding glass door. When it was opened, Kagami led her crying sister out onto their back porch where Matsuri and Kagami had their infamous fight and Tsukasa fell to her knees. She covered her face and kept crying loudly as Kagami turned and casually walked back into the house and locked the door behind her.

She didn't even bother turning back once to look at the emotional damage she had done to Tsukasa as the youngest Hiiragi girl continued to cry on the back porch and Kagami approached the front door. She opened it and another client stood in the doorway, waiting to be led up into her room. This time it was a college student and Kagami quickly took his hand and led him into her house with a fake seductive giggle. As they approached the staircase, they walked past the sliding glass door and saw Tsukasa still crying at her same spot with her back facing them.

"Is she okay?" The boy asked with genuine concern.

"Yeah she's fine she's just a little crybaby. Anyway do you want your dick sucked or not?" Kagami asked harshly.

Drawn by Kagami's invite, he quickly forgot about Tsukasa and kept following her upstairs. He chuckled and replied, "You're a swallower, right?"

Kagami glared as they reached the top of the stairs and she led him into her room. "That'll cost you extra, dirty boy." She hissed and slammed her door shut.

Tsukasa continued to sit outside and cry, not knowing what to do. For the first time in her life, she truly knew what it felt like to be exposed and in the open, vulnerable to anything. She was faced with a never-ending situation that was continuing to strip her of her innocence and make her ask a question that she _never_ had to ask herself before. Is her beloved twin sister a threat to her own safety? Still desperately clinging to her crumbling blind love for Kagami, Tsukasa quickly pulled herself to her feet as she knew her family was going to be home soon so she believed that she still needed to protect Kagami. When she found the sliding glass door was locked, Tsukasa went around to the front door and entered her house, once again only to be met with loneliness.

As she walked past the staircase, she heard something. She could hear her sister's voice and Tsukasa instantly remembered Kagami's warnings to her and she decided to keep obeying them as she still wept silently. It wasn't until she suddenly heard a separate voice come from upstairs that sounded like a boy that made Tsukasa freeze. She stood and listened closely at the bottom of the stairs and heard her sister's voice again, which was immediately replied to by the same boyish voice. Was she with someone up there?

Tsukasa suddenly felt herself torn. She wanted to heed her sister's warnings, but didn't know if someone had broken into the house and whether Kagami was in danger. With her knees shaking, Tsukasa believed she was doing something good as she slowly and quietly climbed the stairs. Her heart was pounding and sweat trickled down her face as she trembled fiercely. She had never broken a household rule in her life and she was about to disobey her sister's request to leave her alone. Tsukasa however tried to convince herself that she was just checking to make sure she wasn't in any danger.

As she reached the top of the stairs and made her way closer to Kagami's door, she heard her sister's voice say, "Fine I'll swallow but did you at least wash it before you came here?"

Her question was replied to by the same boy's voice that laughed first before it said, "Not a chance. It's nice and dirty and sweaty, just the way you like it."

"You asshole. Whatever let's get this over with."

Tsukasa had no idea what they were talking about and she remained ignorant to the subject matter as she finally made it to Kagami's door and she lifted her trembling hand. As soon as Tsukasa's hand touched the doorknob, she hesitated. She trembled and quivered uncontrollably while trying to quell her rising panic. Her face painted a picture of a terrified child being whisked past a threshold of uncertainty with no friendly hand to hold onto to take away the fear. She felt all alone as she stood outside her sister's door with her hand on the knob.

She suddenly heard something she didn't expect. It sounded like her sister was humming but it wasn't consistent or a song that she could recognize. The sound did have a pattern though and she could hear one hum followed by silence until another one would follow and so on. Still pure and childish at heart, Tsukasa slowly turned Kagami's doorknob and gently pushed the door open. She opened it just a crack until she moved her head towards it and peered in.

The first thing she saw was a young man sitting at the edge of Kagami's bed, nearly making her shriek in terror. She didn't know this boy so a stranger was in her home and she was scared but her fear was instantly taken away when she saw her sister. Her fear was replaced by simple childlike curiosity. She saw Kagami on her knees wearing a strange red and black striped top and she had no pants on. The only thing keeping her decent was the yellow pair of panties wrapped around her hips. Her head and face to Tsukasa's surprise was planted on the boy's lap and her head was bobbing up and down slowly while she still hummed her rhythmic noise. Still, Tsukasa had no idea what she was witnessing.

"You're good at this." The boy said. "Finger yourself while you do it."

Kagami paused momentarily until she started moving her head up and down above his lap again and she moved her hand down her stomach and slipped it underneath her panties. She curled her fingers several times and sounded a deeper moan in the process as Tsukasa watched the ordeal from the door. Tsukasa's heart raced when she saw her sister's hand move below her underwear and she blushed.

_Sis…that's a dirty area…what are you doing? I don't understand…_

The boy Kagami was servicing grinned maliciously and he grabbed Kagami's head and pushed it further down on his lap. Kagami squealed loudly and struggled until he allowed her to lift her head up again and she began coughing loudly and something suddenly came out of Kagami's mouth. As the twin-tailed girl looked up angrily at her client, Tsukasa saw it. Kagami held the boy's erection in her hand as she growled at him.

"You bastard I told you not to do that!" She hissed.

"I'll tip you. Speaking of tip, get back to it." He replied with a slight chuckle.

Kagami glared at him again and to Tsukasa's mounting horror and sickness, Kagami swallowed it and began moving her head up and down again while moaning and she kept moving her fingers underneath her panties. Tsukasa suddenly made the connection to what her older sister was doing. The very idea of doing something like this to a man never even formulated itself in her clean mind. Tsukasa felt her entire body go numb as she gulped and felt sick. She felt her breakfast churn and bubble inside her stomach and acknowledged the growing urge to vomit. To put something like that in your mouth was a devastatingly deep culture shock and Tsukasa slowly backed away from the door while covering her mouth.

When she was far enough, Tsukasa turned and ran with all her might from the door and locked herself in the bathroom. Feeling repulsed and frightened, Tsukasa threw up into the toilet and began crying as another realization came to mind, furthering her disgust. She now saw that she was an enabler and because she was keeping Kagami a secret from everybody, she was now doing these dirty things in their home. Tsukasa continued to cry as she rocked back and forth while hugging herself tightly on the floor, praying the images that continued to replay in her mind of her sister performing fellatio on a stranger would magically vanish.

One hour later, Miki and Inori returned from the store with their supplies while Tadao was still out on his errands. Miki came home to a quiet house and an unusual surprise. She found Tsukasa asleep in her bed and seemed to be rather upset about something, even in her slumber. She felt her forehead to find that she wasn't running a fever so she assumed that Tsukasa simply felt fatigued. It wouldn't have been the first time since everyone knew how much of a heavy sleeper Tsukasa was so Miki decided to let her sleep.

She decided to keep unloading the dryer of the fresh clothes and fold them as Inori replaced the missing light bulbs. It made the Hiiragi housewife more depressed as she folded all of Kagami's clothes but she still knew that the twin-tailed girl was still her daughter and she still acknowledged the fact that she loved her. She suddenly remembered all the times she would pull all of Kagami's baby clothes out of the dryer and dress both her and Tsukasa in adorable matching outfits, which were always a hit as Christmas cards. She remembered one in particular where Tsukasa was a small reindeer with a painted red nose and Kagami was dressed as Santa Claus.

Miki carried the laundry basket upstairs and eyed Kagami's closed door. It was a simple routine as far as she was concerned. She was just going to deliver laundry to Kagami's room and leave and she expected the errand to be mundane and borderline scripted with no twists or turns. The very idea of another person sitting inside Kagami's empty bedroom didn't cross Miki's mind when she grabbed the doorknob, turned it, and pushed the door open.

The Hiiragi housewife felt so many emotions penetrate her at once at what she walked into that her only reaction was to freeze. She felt everything from anger, terror, shock, anguish, and defeat altogether. Kagami Hiiragi sat before her own mother on her bed with a tourniquet wrapped around her other arm free of any collapsed veins and a syringe with a needle dug into a fresh vein. The twin-tailed girl still didn't notice her mother's intrusion as she held the syringe's body and she pushed down on the plunger, sending yet another round of heroin into her body.

The laundry basket slipped from Miki's grip and it crashed on the floor, finally grabbing Kagami's attention and she looked at her mother. The two women stared. That was the only thing they could do. This was their first meeting in more than a week and it had to start like this; with a syringe used for drugs buried into Kagami's vein and her mother forced to bear witness to the act. Silence fell between them. It was long and unbearable, though their facial expressions told two completely different stories.

Despite the fact that she was high, Kagami still knew that she was caught and there was no logical response that would come close to justifying her actions. Her face showed a look of panic and her eyes bounced erratically in her head, desperately looking for any form of escape from this predicament.

Miki on the other hand was a polar opposite of her daughter. While Kagami looked for an excuse, Miki looked for an inner strength not to cry. It was a losing effort. Miki's first response was to start trembling as her face meshed into a frightening expression of horror while the tears mounted in her eyes. She lifted her hands to her face and as she started to vocalize her rising devastation in grunts, she finally let it all out. She grabbed her head and screamed like a siren as her eyes turned into two geysers. Her howl of dismay shattered the delicate harmony of the Hiiragi household and it sent her oldest daughter running up the stairs as she thought something was happening to her mother.

Inori stormed into Kagami's room and saw her younger sister quickly stand, still with a used needle bouncing in her vein and the tourniquet constricting her arm. Kagami still tried to search for a way out of her quandary and she quickly ripped the needle out of her arm and threw it aside.

"Kagami! What the hell are you doing?!" Inori shrieked as Miki also found her voice again.

"Oh god Kagami, why?! Why?! Why are you doing this to yourself?! Stop this! Stop all of this right now! Look at you! You need help!" Miki screamed and also awoke Tsukasa in the process.

The youngest Hiiragi girl came running into Kagami's room with another terrified look of what was happening. "What's going on?!"

As soon as Tsukasa showed her face and locked eyes with Kagami, a nuclear explosion of pure hatred and rage detonated within the twin-tailed girl. Kagami felt betrayed and she screamed loudly as the rage from the drugs also heated Kagami's brain and the she charged forward. She blew past Inori and Miki and collided with Tsukasa, throwing the two twins into the hallway and Kagami quickly gained the upper hand.

"You bitch you promised me goddamn you!" Kagami screamed with blood-shot eyes and grabbed Tsukasa's hair as she screamed and thrashed in terror. Kagami lifted Tsukasa's head and slammed it as hard as she could against the hardwood floor and was able to do it a second time until Inori tackled Kagami.

The two sisters rolled over each other as the screaming and profanities echoed in the house and they reached the stairs. Not knowing their location relative to the stairs, the two sisters rolled down the stairs as Inori struggled to keep the screaming and flailing Kagami under control. When they finally landed at the bottom of the staircase, Inori got her hand too close to Kagami's mouth and the crazed twin-tailed girl opened her mouth and quickly latched onto her sister's hand, activating her muscles to dig her teeth into Inori's flesh.

Inori screamed in agonizing pain as Kagami tasted her blood until she released Inori's hand, who forgot about Kagami as she held her bleeding hand and continued vocalizing her suffering. Kagami still had an agenda in the midst of her furious cyclone of a psychotic mind as she arrived at another closet and ripped it open. She found several outfits hanging up and they were zipped inside garment bags. Kagami found the one with her name written on it, snatched it, and began to run to another bathroom as she heard her mother tear down the stairs.

Kagami locked herself in the home's second bathroom and quickly retreated to the window, opened it, and dropped the outfit in the garment bag out and was about to make her escape. Before she went however, she needed one more hit. Kagami grabbed the toilet lid and lifted it up. When she flipped it over, she drooled over the several bags of cocaine that were hidden inside and held in place by duct tape. The Hiiragi family didn't know it, but after Kagami finished her last client, she hid the rest of her drug stash in various spots around the house while Tsukasa slept. She planned on keeping them as her "rainy day" stash and to be used periodically, but her plans had obviously changed.

The disgruntled twin-tailed girl took her razor blade also hidden with the cocaine and began to chop the white powder on the tile floor and was able to divide them into even lines and she put her face to the floor. She inhaled the first white line and her adrenaline continued to burn like fire and as she moved her nose to the next one, Miki was once again able to pick the lock and pushed the door open. As if finding Kagami with a syringe dug into her arm wasn't bad enough, now Miki stood above a raging Kagami with her face nestled against a dirty floor covered with drugs.

"You're snorting cocaine off a floor now?!" Miki cried and deepened her anger. "Out! I want you out of my house! If you're going to do these things, I'm never going to let you do them in my house! Get the fuck out of here now!"

Kagami quickly scrambled to her feet and Miki still couldn't see how numbed her daughter was when she charged forward again and tackled her. The twin-tailed girl saw her mother as another demonic voice telling her things she didn't want to hear and there was only one thing Kagami could do to silence it. Kill it. With this intention in mind, Kagami pinned her mother to the floor and wrapped her hands around her neck and squeezed with all her might.

Miki was no match against Kagami's drug-induced strength as the twin-tailed girl squeezed tighter and tighter around her mother's neck. The crying Tsukasa quickly rounded the corner and screamed loudly when she saw her mother struggling for air and beginning to turn blue underneath Kagami's gritting teeth inside the face of the animal that was her big sister. Tsukasa dashed over to Kagami and tried to save her mother's life in the midst of her meltdown. She tried pulling at her sister's arms but her emotions were weakening her strength and Tsukasa knew it. She fell to her knees next to Kagami and continued to scream and cry while helplessly watching the life in her mother's eyes fade away as Miki continued to struggle and gag and her flailing began to slow as death approached.

"Sis please stop! Don't kill our mommy! Stop! Stop! Stop! Stop! I love her! Don't do it I beg you!" Tsukasa screamed while still struggling in vain to pry her big sister off her mother. Tsukasa felt completely helpless as all she could do was cry as she was forced to watch her hero and idol in Kagami slowly kill her mother.

"I didn't kill Matsuri! I didn't kill Matsuri!" Kagami shrieked so loudly and quickly it was barely audible. "Stop saying those fucking things! I didn't murder Matsuri or Kusakabe! Stop torturing me you fucking shits!"

As Miki's eyes began to roll into the back of her head for Tsukasa to see and cry over, Inori rushed in and with all her might, drove a frying pan downward and it made razor contact with Kagami's head. The attack made the twin-tailed girl lose control of her motor skills and she released her mother and fell to the floor while twitching. Miki started coughing loudly to pump more air into her lungs and Tsukasa wasted no time in hugging her mother while still crying over what had just transpired.

Inori stood above her twitching sister breathing hard while gripping the frying pan, ironically, in the hand Kagami bit into. She had a look that was just as animalistic as Kagami while she stared down at her sister's vibrating body on the floor. Never in her entire life had she been this angry and scared at the same time, especially of one of her own family members. However, the damage had been done and Inori knew that her tattered family needed her and she dropped the frying pan and bent down to her mother's side.

"Mom, mom? Are you okay? Can you stand?" Inori whispered softly as Miki continued to breathe deeply and the gut-wrenching bruises began to form around her neck like a scarf.

Miki struggled to her feet but was assisted by her youngest and oldest daughters and they disregarded Kagami, even when her motor skills began to return and the twin-tailed girl was still mad as hell. They sat her down at the kitchen as Tsukasa fetched water for her mother and Inori was about to call for an ambulance.

"Kagami…why…?" Miki asked why her daughter attacked her so viciously and nearly fatally.

"Mom…sis was with…some guy in her room today, too." Tsukasa wept as her shaking hands brought the water to her mother.

"What?" Inori asked as Miki also looked up.

Tsukasa nodded as she began to cry again. "I'm sorry…but I've been lying! I've been keeping Kagami a secret! She's been upstairs doing drugs this whole time and doing…these other things…"

"I was sucking his fucking cock you prudish little cunt!" Kagami's voice yelled behind them.

The three petrified women quickly turned and saw Kagami with a bleeding nose from the cocaine standing before them. Her teeth were showing as the red liquid seeped from her nostrils and she trembled angrily. They feared that at any second, she would resume her attack as the drugs kept their firm grip on her.

"That's right! I'm not only a junkie bitch, I'm also a filthy whore who sucks and fucks for cash to keep the drugs coming!" Kagami screamed at them. "You want me gone?! I'm the fuck out of here! I hate you Tsukasa! I fucking hate you!"

The front door suddenly began turning and it only meant one thing. Tadao was finally home and Kagami formed a psychotic smile as the blood rushed down her face and she turned towards the door and began charging.

"Dad watch out!" Inori screamed as fast as she could.

Tadao opened the door and the last thing he saw was the top of Kagami's head collide with his face. Kagami's head butt struck her father and immediately knocked him unconscious and Kagami was out of the house. Still high and still out of her mind, Kagami quickly dashed over to the bathroom window and grabbed the garment bag protecting her outfit and began to run wildly down the street back to the only home she had left.

As Miki, Inori, and Tsukasa quickly gathered around Tadao, Tsukasa looked up just in time to see her sister disappear down the street. Tsukasa's entire being was shattered and all she could do about it was scream again and cry in her post-traumatic fear.


	20. Chapter 20

CHAPTER 19

Dr. Nagisa Kishimoto didn't expect the Hiiragi family to make another group appointment so quickly, especially when Miki called her and demanded to see her later that day. Because of the circumstances surrounding Kagami and Dr. Kishimoto's personal but still hidden connection to the troubled twin-tailed Hiiragi, the psychologist quickly made another appointment for them. What furthered the therapist's surprise was when her patients all showed up with war injuries. Tadao's nose was in a bandaged splint while his left eye was darkened slightly in addition to his already splinted hand from being crushed in Kagami's door, Miki was in a neckbrace, Inori's hand was wrapped up like a mummy, and Tsukasa's arms were wrapped in bruises from her older sister's constricting grip, as well as two bumps on her head buried underneath her hair.

As the five people sat in the office, Dr. Kishimoto slowly and awkwardly rocked in her office chair as she tapped her pen on her notepad while observing the physically battered and emotionally broken family. When the silence became too unbearable, Dr. Kishimoto asked, "So…anything new?"

The family instantly turned to Tsukasa, who quivered and began to tremble in her mounting guilt. Tadao said in a smooth but still disappointed voice, which deepened Tsukasa's anguish, "Well, tell her, Tsukasa."

Tsukasa gulped and let a tear fall from her eye as she felt as if she was about to be punished but she took comfort in looking into Dr. Kishimoto's soft eyes. "I…I've been…lying to my family. Kagami…she came home a few days ago…and I've been hiding her. She promised me that she…that she was going to get clean on her own. But she lied to me. She's been…she's been using me…to hide her…so she could keep doing drugs and…and…"

The youngest Hiiragi girl couldn't finish the last part and quickly shielded her face as her seemingly too familiar crying face reappeared and Dr. Kishimoto sighed. "Has Kagami been prostituting herself?"

Miki nodded as best as she could given the obstacle wrapped around her neck. "Tsukasa accidentally witnessed Kagami giving oral sex to a stranger in her room. I later walked in on her shooting heroin and it resulted in this huge fight and she did all of this to us, which led us to calling this meeting. We want to know if you can work with the judicial system and issue a warrant for Kagami's arrest to place her under psychiatric watch now. There's no denying it anymore. Kagami is mentally ill whether she knows it or not and if we're going to help her it needs to be now or never."

Dr. Kishimoto nodded slowly. "I understand your feelings, Miki-san, but I'm afraid the risks are higher now. The court system is going to ask me why I'm requesting a warrant such as this because technically I would be asking them to arrest someone who hadn't committed a crime yet. Now, I have no choice but to explain your predicament because physical harm has obviously befallen you at Kagami's hands."

Tsukasa lifted her head. "But…but you told us that everything we say here…never leaves."

"Yes, my dear, I did, but there are limits to that rule. The only reason I would breach that policy is if I believe physical harm will either come or has already come to people involved in the matter, which it has. This also includes Kagami. Now I'm legally obligated to tell the court system what transpired with her." Dr. Kishimoto replied. "I'm afraid obtaining a warrant for psychological detention is going to be much more difficult now because this is now a criminal matter. The prosecutors will see this as domestic violence and issue a warrant for Kagami's arrest for domestic violence, assault, and battery."

"What if we refuse to press those charges?" Inori asked.

"Then the prosecutors will look for another excuse to get Kagami off the streets. They'll try to pin a more public offense such as disturbing the peace on her." Dr. Kishimoto replied.

Tadao sighed. "Maybe pursuing criminal charges against her is for the best."

"But dad, you said you would hate to see something like this happen to Kagami!" Tsukasa wailed. "After all her hard work in school and how proud she made us! For us to take that away from her…?!"

"Tsukasa, she tried to kill your own mother." Tadao snapped. "Look at her. She's in a neck brace. I know I said that but the stakes are much higher now. Kagami is a threat to society and herself as well. She's already on drugs now I have to find out that she's been selling herself? Do you know how much that hurts me considering what I've always taught you girls about women and the spiritual beauty of them?"

"But, but she didn't know she was doing it! Kagami was screaming 'I didn't kill Matsuri' over and over again when she was attacking mom!" Tsukasa exclaimed.

This caught Dr. Kishimoto's attention. "Is that true?"

Miki nodded. "It is. I was able to hear some of that as I was beginning to black out."

"Then that proves it was an attack driven by psychological disturbances and not simple anger. Kagami was either hearing voices or hallucinating but either way that will help me overrule any criminal charges for now." Dr. Kishimoto replied. "Of course, the only way I can do that is if you all agree as a family that this is what you want to and be willing to sign a few papers. Kagami may be a legal adult but she'll still need a signature of approval to detain her for this unlike if she had committed a more serious crime where none of us would have any say. Of course, I could still make my case before the judicial system and they can still deny it but I feel it's a risk we have to take."

The Hiiragi family exchanged looks with each other, trying to get a feel for where the other stood regarding this issue. Would they pursue the psychological route and try to save Kagami from a life of endless pain, torment and an inevitable quick death, or would they simply call the police and put her behind bars, thus seriously jeopardizing her chances of accomplishing a successful career? It was beginning to startle them however when none of them could come to a unanimous decision since each side had its significant pros and cons.

Seeing that the family was struggling with this issue, Dr. Kishimoto cleared her throat. "Perhaps we need to look at this a little more intimately. Tadao-san and Miki-san, would you two do me a favor and stare at each other's injuries? Not into each other's eyes or attempts to read more body language, but truly let the ramifications of Kagami's drug addiction sink into your hearts, minds, and souls. Your daughter attacked both of you and inflicted the injuries you see on each other so you must ask yourselves do you want to risk more injuries? Because if we try to detain Kagami and take the psychological approach, she's going to need you to be there even though she'll be defiant, hostile, even violent again so are these risks you want to take again?"

Following Dr. Kishimoto's words, they analyzed each other and were able to conclude that despite all that had happened, they got off easy. So many other scenarios could've played out in that terrifying ordeal; Kagami could've succeeded in killing Miki, Kagami and/or Inori could've broken their necks or something else falling down the stairs, anything could've happened. They knew that when Kagami would eventually run out of places to run and be detained, she would fight it with everything she had. It was clear to them that the drugs in her system combined with her mental disorder were going to make her nothing short of a deadly force if they let her get the upper hand. Still, they loved her too much just to throw in the towel.

Tadao turned back and said, "Okay, we'll do it. We want to help her so please make it happen, Dr. Kishimoto."

She nodded and the rest of the appointment was spent filling out the necessary paperwork for Dr. Kishimoto to assemble to make her case for the court system. Obtaining a warrant to detain someone for such an issue was no walk in the park and it was no guarantee even with the evidence she would present. It was a long and tumultuous path riddled with scrutinizing pessimists determined to derail the process because they believed that such time and resources should be allocated to pursuing criminal matters over someone's disgruntled child. Still, Dr. Kishimoto knew this had to be done, if not for the Hiiragi family and Kagami, then for her so she would be able to feel some form of redemption.

When the Hiiragi family left her office and she was alone, Dr. Kishimoto couldn't help but cry. She allowed herself to sob in solitude for several minutes as her means of venting her relentless guilt and anguish over the trauma in her life that still showed itself in the forms of scars. She couldn't help but roll up the sleeve of her one arm and look at all the collapsed veins in her arm from the repeated heroin usage, but she also looked at her wrist on her other arm and saw three scars across her wrist. Souvenirs from a knife inflicted by her own hand so many years ago.

Dr. Kishimoto sniffed several times until she reached into her desk drawer and pulled out another picture frame. In it was a photograph of two girls, one a few years older than the other. The youngest girl was no older than nine years old while Dr. Kishimoto was in her late teens at the time it was taken. The nine year old girl looked so happy and innocent as she rode on Dr. Kishimoto's back in a piggyback ride as she was carried through a shallow stream in the woods on a camping trip so many years ago. The little girl was laughing and waving at the camera happily as the young Dr. Kishimoto also smiled and laughed. What troubled Dr. Kishimoto the most was the fact that the little girl in the image had disturbingly similar features of childhood innocence and prosperity that mirrored Tsukasa Hiiragi, while she had a persona that reminded her so much of Kagami. Still, this image brought back memories that still gutted the psychologist to the current day. She still believed that she was responsible for letting nothing short of pure evil run wild and free.

"I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry all that had to happen to you…" she whispered to the pixilated image of the little girl. "He…he was a very bad, bad, man. I should've seen it…but I didn't…and I failed to protect you…baby sis…"

(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(- )-(-)

It wasn't a surprise for Ryuji Katsumoto when Kagami returned to them and told him that she was done with her family and wanted to stay with them indefinitely. It was a surprise to even him however when he realized that Kagami had blown through nearly that entire black bag of drugs she got only a few days ago after she and Yuki Miyakawa played tag-team on satisfying seventeen men in one day and Kagami spent all the money she made from the ordeal on the drugs. Though Ryuji never met Matsuri and was only a casual acquaintance of Misao Kusakabe, he saw now that Kagami was in serious pain and that he and his cousin were taking advantage of that for financial gain. Just as they desired.

While her family was off collaborating with Dr. Kishimoto, Kagami wanted to spend the rest of the day with Yuka Miyakawa but sadly for her, it wasn't meant to be. Miyakawa got a call to perform a private session for a few rich foreign tourists. Normally Miyakawa's street smarts would tell her to stay away from such invites because she would be in a new part of town where she didn't know the area and for all she knew, she was walking into a trap set by the gangbangers she and her cousin and their comrades were feuding with. However, this time Miyakawa couldn't turn it down, especially when she learned that she would be paid more than the average person made in a single year to have sex with five guys in a hotel room literally from dawn to dusk.

Kagami was disappointed when she found out that Miyakawa might miss her baptism into the world of stripping, which was scheduled for tonight. To pass the time, Kagami continued to smoke crack and crystal meth with Ryuji in Miyakawa's empty apartment in never-ending uphill battles to fight off her tortured mind. In the midst of their high, it didn't even register in Kagami's mind what she was doing, even when she and Ryuji stripped naked and the twin-tailed girl rocked herself back and forth on top of him and moaned loudly. Everything to Kagami was a filtered reality and she could only feel euphoria from the drugs and not the sensations of having sex with Yuka Miyakawa's cousin, though she would hardly care if she found out. When they were finished, the two junkies soon passed out for a few hours, allowing more time to pass by in the day and their lives because at the rate they were going, they weren't going to see too many more days.

It didn't even bother the two junkies that they were resting in a filthy apartment with an overall symbolic appearance of their lives. The walls were peeling, the carpets were moldy, discarded drugs littered the floor, the whole apartment complex was rusty and dilapidated, and every now and then several pops of gunfire, passing police car sirens, and screaming women were also heard outside. Back alley cats even hissed and fought each other, only adding to the blended stew of audible urban decay. Rats could even be heard running above the ceiling, as well as chewing on any remnants of food they could find.

As the sun began to set on this day, the day that Kagami drove a devastating wedge between her and her family, her hour to get on stage was also drawing closer. Stirring slightly in the dirty apartment, Kagami felt both the warm rays of the setting sun shine through the tattered blanket that acted as a curtain. She also suddenly felt the presence of someone nestling themselves against her back.

The twin-tailed girl groaned groggily as she stretched and yawned while muttering, "Ryuji, I told you, my backdoor is off limits. That's an exit, not an entrance."

A hand began to lower itself towards Kagami's face as she continued to stir on her side and the hand began to gently rub her skin. Kagami registered the touch to belong to a female and she smiled as she kept her eyes closed. It seemed to her that Miyakawa had returned.

"Are you back?" Kagami whispered while still lying on the dirty floor.

"I wish, Kagami. I wish." A female voice replied.

Kagami's eyes suddenly snapped open and her pupils shrank again as her heart pounded. She gulped and sweat trickled down her face as she slowly turned her head to confirm the identity of this voice. When she saw the person nestled up against her back on the floor, she nearly screamed.

"Hi there. Sleep well?" Matsuri Hiiragi said to her calmly.

Kagami screamed loudly as she shot up from the floor, knocking over the coffee table and scattering used syringes and empty pill bottles over the floor. Kagami was barely decent as she only wore a tattered t-shirt that belonged to Miyakawa and her panties and her deep blush showed how embarrassed she was in addition to her fright.

"Goddamn it! You're not there Matsuri! Why am I still seeing you?!" Kagami screamed but Ryuji remained unresponsive as he was out cold.

Matsuri slowly stood up and folded her arms across her chest while looking around the dingy setting. "For some reason I always pictured you living in a house, Kagami. A really big one with a swimming pool in the backyard, maybe with a large room dedicated to your own personal study where all your college degrees would be hanging on the walls. Maybe even a dog or two running around. Tell me…why was my visual for your life wrong?"

Kagami began to hyperventilate and quickly turned her back to her sister and covered her face. While she breathed deeply, she huffed, "It's all in my head, it's all in my head, it's all in my head…"

"Speaking of head…that was disgusting, Hiiragi. Do you know your little sister saw you sucking that guy off?" Another female voice asked only this time it was directly in front of Kagami.

Still shaking in fear, Kagami slowly removed her hands from her face and looked into the eyes of Misao Kusakabe standing only inches from her. The two girls stood there frozen in their positions and poses until Misao broke the silence the best way she knew how.

"Boo." She said casually.

"Fuck you!" Kagami shrieked, formed a fist, and swung it towards Misao's head.

In the blink of an eye, Kagami's fist struck only thin air as her late friend suddenly disappeared when the twin-tailed girl's eyelids opened again. The amount of force Kagami used behind her punch threw her off balance and she nearly fell to the floor if it wasn't for the rotting wall to catch her fall. She quickly turned again and saw Matsuri and Misao standing side-by-side each other, both with their arms folded across their chests while holding their looks of discontent for Kagami.

"Leave me alone! I don't have to tell you two anything! You're not even there!" Kagami's panic showed in her angry and frightened voice.

"I also pictured your first time having sex to be with a man. A very tall, muscular, educated man who always vowed to love, honor, cherish, and protect you and it would happen on your honeymoon. And you wouldn't even be having sex. You'd be making love." Matsuri added with remorse. "Instead, it happens with a stranger older than our own father in the backseat of a rusty car in a dark alleyway on a stormy night where you're also forced to take shelter in a moldy box after it. Tell me Kagami, was it worth it? That old man paid you pretty well to deflower you so was it worth it?"

Kagami gritted her teeth while glaring angrily at her sister and friend. She quickly looked around the sullied floor and found the visual aid she sought in the dirty crack pipe still filled with some rocks. She picked it up, put it to her mouth and hissed, "You tell me!"

The twin-tailed girl lit the bottom of the pipe and began inhaling the smoke to get her high back, hoping that her sister and friend would disappear. She felt her euphoria return, but was still overruled by fear when the visions before her remained.

"It seems that you're developing a tolerance to that drug because we're still here." Misao said with a huff. "Now seeing as how we traveled all this way, I think you should answer your sister's questions. Why was she wrong in her predictions that you would be living in a huge house and why was she wrong about how you would lose your virginity?"

Kagami turned her back to them and even though they were still there, the euphoric effects of the drug calmed her. "Shit happens. Why are you two here?"

"I'm here because Tsukasa asked me to be here. You know she visits my grave on a weekly basis praying for help?" Matsuri replied with frustration. "She keeps praying for you and for you to find the light…and she's crying when she does it."

The disgruntled twin-tailed girl tried to hide her shiver upon hearing that last part but she couldn't fool what was in her mind and she continued to look at the floor away from them. Kagami rubbed her arm as it began to turn ice-cold, a sign that it was hungry for more drugs.

"I bet you really want those drugs right now, don't you, Kagami?" Matsuri asked. "They're really good at numbing your pain but sooner or later, that pain begins to thaw as the high wears off and then you're back to square one. Tell us…what are you so afraid of that you won't seek treatment for your addictions and to deal with our losses?"

"Did you really think we would be flattered if you honored our memories with a drug addiction and a career as a prostitute?" Misao added.

Feeling increasingly cold from the withdrawal, Kagami hugged herself tighter while she shivered. "You…you don't know the pain I feel. You don't know what true misery and guilt feels like."

"That's where you're wrong. Both of us did something that we regretted everyday and it was a never-ending cross for us to bear until we died." Matsuri replied. "Remember the last time we truly spoke to each other? It was a fight and you made me believe that you knew what I did that nearly made mom and dad disown me. What I did was so vile that when I recognized it, I had nightmares about it literally every night since and I carried that with me until I died."

"And remember what I told you? I was always reckless and impulsive and a party girl." Misao added. "I never listened to my parents and when those photos were taken of me and showed up online, I lost my chance to go to college. My parents never stopped crying over it and it was a devastating weight to carry for the rest of my life. So listen to me and your sister when we tell you that we've been there and we've done that. You don't own the market in feeling guilt and pain."

Still, Kagami remained silent as she shivered. She soon sighed and turned back to face them. "What do you want me to do?"

"Go home. It's as simple as that. Go home." Matsuri instructed. "You will have an uphill battle for a long time, but it's still not too late for you, Kagami. However, you have no idea what kind of devastation lies ahead of you. We know…because we've already seen it. You think that drugs, prostitution, and hurting our family are bad? That's not even the prologue. We've seen things that you will do in the days and weeks ahead that even give Satan nightmares. Things you cannot even imagine…things that end in bloodshed, torture, and death. And please heed this warning, Kagami. Tsukasa is in so much danger. Don't let Yuka Miyakawa get her hands on her. Our little sis will never recover if you let what we see in your future come to fruition. Please protect her from that devil. If not for her and if not for you…then for the sake of the very concept of the word innocence. Tsukasa still doesn't know that such evil exists in the world so she's naïve and vulnerable to a shape-shifter like Miyakawa."

Kagami turned away again. "Tsukasa is fine. She's safe in our own home so nothing will happen to her. Yuka would never hurt my sister if I told her not to. Yuka is my friend…no…she's more than that. She's special to me. I…I think I love her. Now leave me alone. Leave me in peace. It's you two I don't need. I need my drugs to deal with not only you, but also everything else that is truly fucked up in my life. You two being here is only making it worse so go. Go now."

Matsuri sighed and shook her head. "You've been warned. And to answer your question that you ask yourself every day, the answer is yes. Yes I do forgive you and I still love you."

"And if I were you, I wouldn't get in the car with any fat guys in the near future." Misao added quickly, prompting confusion in Kagami.

The twin-tailed girl showed a puzzled face and as she blinked before she replied, her eyes were met with an empty apartment when her eyelids lifted. Her late sister and friend were gone once again and Kagami was alone with the sleeping Ryuji on the floor. Kagami quickly looked around the room franticly but it didn't take her long to see that her vision was clear once again. With the silence now giving her the opportunity to think, especially about the final warnings. Was Tsukasa truly in the crosshairs of Yuka Miyakawa? Kagami couldn't logically think of any reason of how that would be possible. Tsukasa may have been naïve but she did remember such mundane principles like not talking to strangers or not going out at night without someone with her. Kagami soon concluded that it was all in her head again and that her twin sister wasn't in any danger. Though she still didn't know what to make of Misao's warning.

When darkness once again engulfed the land, the pink neon sign that stood above Teasers guided the way for more inhumane and chaotic debauchery. Yuka Miyakawa eventually returned for Kagami's dance and there was an obvious limp in her walk in addition to the big smile on her face. It appeared that she had a _really_ good time with the men she was entertaining in the hotel across town, as the briefcase full of money she brought back with her proved.

As the hour for Kagami grew closer, she sat in the changing room of the club and trembled in her chair. She wore her regular clothes with the lingerie she chose underneath but she still wasn't wearing the costume that she promised would drive everyone crazy. Stage fright was beginning to get to her and she continued to breathe deeply in an attempt to quell her stress.

She gulped and she suddenly heard the high heels of another girl walking towards her. Kagami looked up and saw Yuka Miyakawa walk out from the darkness of the shadows and into the light. She still had a satisfied look on her face as she sat down next to Kagami and said, "Nervous, sweetheart?"

Kagami nodded quickly.

Miyakawa couldn't help but giggle and she reached into her pocket and pulled out a small baggie of cocaine. "This should help take the edge off."

Kagami watched with craving eyes as Miyakawa poured the drugs onto the dressing table Kagami sat in front of and she used a razor blade to divide them into three perfect lines. The twin-tailed girl wasted no time when Miyakawa handed her a straw and she put her face to the powder and snorted it quickly. When the white powder was gone and Kagami became jittery and twitched wildly, Miyakawa knew the twin-tailed girl was ready.

Miyakawa's digital watch began beeping and she looked at it, telling her it was close to midnight. She stood and informed, "Fifteen minutes to show time, dear. You better get that costume on. I know you'll do great."

As she turned and began walking away, Kagami quickly stood. "Yu…Yuka? You…you wouldn't do anything to…to hurt my little sister…would you?"

Miyakawa froze in her steps. With her back facing her, Kagami was unable to see the look of panic form on Miyakawa's face. It was the kind of look that only surfaced when a criminal feared that they were discovered. She struggled to hold back her boiling emotions and thankfully for her sake, Kagami couldn't read her mind. The sadistic and pure inhumane plan Miyakawa had for Tsukasa to divide the Hiiragi twins forever was still underdevelopment and needed more time to grow. Now wasn't the time to execute it, so Miyakawa didn't know if Kagami overheard a conversation she had had with Ryuji or Itou in what to do with Tsukasa.

Miyakawa quickly turned around with a smile on her face and a look of innocence in her eyes. "Why of course not, Kagami. Why would you even ask such a thing? Look, I understand that you and your family have had some…issues…but I bare no grudge against them or little Tsukasa. I know how much she means to you and I would never hurt a single hair on her head. As far as I know, Tsukasa is my little sister, too. That's how much I care about you, Kagami."

Yuka Miyakawa's conniving and award-worthy act once again seeped into Kagami's brain and fooled her. The twin-tailed girl smiled and nodded while saying, "Yuka…thank you."

Deepening her smile, Miyakawa slowly waltzed back to Kagami and placed her hands on her hips. "You know I care about you, right?"

Still twitching from the influx of cocaine in her system, Kagami still saw Miyakawa as something more than a friend and nodded while hugging her tightly. When Miyakawa pulled out of the hug, she placed her hands under Kagami's chin and smiled.

"So cute…how about a kiss for good luck?" Miyakawa asked with a seductive smile.

Kagami nodded quickly with a smile. Miyakawa pulled her close and gently placed her lips on Kagami's lips, who instantly returned the gesture and the sociopath opened the twin-tail's mouth and made the contact deeper. Miyakawa never tired of this girl's touch, but at the same time never saw her as anything else but expendable and wouldn't lose a single second of sleep if something terrible would happen to her.

Miyakawa pulled away from Kagami's lips and stared at her, who was still lost in a daze from the intimate contact. Kagami slowly opened her eyes and stared at Miyakawa's smiling face. She stuttered before she could force out, "When…when can we…?"

The scheming girl giggled and placed her hand on Kagami's cheek. "Tell you what. If you do _really_ well on your dance tonight…I'll reward you. You…me…my room afterward. Sound good?"

Kagami smiled and nodded. "I want you already."

"All good things to those who wait, my dear. Break a leg." Miyakawa whispered and walked away, leaving Kagami a twitching pile of putty.

When the clock struck midnight, the strip club once again became a mosh pit of enthusiastic and corrupt men crowding the stage waiting to shower the latest addition to Miyakawa's team with the contents of their saving accounts. As the stage was set, Itou once again got on the microphone when everything was ready and made the announcement.

"Gentlemen, get ready for the dancing debut of our newest girl!" He said. "I ask that you be very gentle with her because she's a girl of principles."

The men instantly began booing, though they all knew it was part of the show.

"Hailing from the spiritual world, give it up for our own priestess, Kagami Hiiragi!" He shouted over the microphone and the cheering began, though it immediately subsided when the curtains opened and the lights went out and a single spotlight shined down on Kagami.

She was wearing her traditional Miko outfit and as her intro, a traditional Japanese biwa began playing over the loudspeakers as she slowly walked onto the stage. She kept her head lowered and her face hidden underneath her long hair, almost as if she was ashamed of what she was doing and she kept her hands connected in front of her stomach. As the traditional music played and Kagami approached the main pole surrounded by the men, she stopped and slowly looked up to present her face to them.

"My friends…I have come to you today because this is a house of sin…and it needs to be absolved of its wickedness." Kagami whispered in a soft acting voice as a new song began to play quietly but was gaining momentum. "Tonight, I will perform the ceremonial dance that will cleanse this wicked place of its sin…and its horniness."

The loudspeakers suddenly erupted with Kagami's choice song and simultaneously, Kagami threw her arms open, tearing the Miko outfit off her body and revealing her true wardrobe underneath. It consisted of nothing but pink platform shoes, a pink thong, and light blue tassels covering her breasts, even more daring than what Yuka Miyakawa even used in most of her routines. The song tearing through the loudspeakers was Halestorm's "Mz. Hyde," which opened with heavy music and Kagami began swinging from the pole with it as the cheering started.

As she danced, Kagami mouthed the first few lines of the song. "In the daylight, I'm your sweetheart! Your goody-two-shows prude is a work of art! But you don't know me, and soon you won't forget! Bad as can be yeah you know I'm not so innocent!"

While Kagami continued to dance and thrive in her routines on stage, Yuka Miyakawa and her cousin Ryuji Katsumoto sat at the bar and watched the whole ordeal. Miyakawa held Kagami's cell phone in her hand as she watched with lustful eyes at her current toy dancing on stage while Ryuji remained passive.

"I'll admit it I was pessimistic at first but you trained her well, just like all the others." Ryuji said to her as Miyakawa stared at a picture on display on Kagami's phone. "What the hell are you so interested in with that phone?"

Miyakawa turned her head to her cousin and smiled an evil and conniving grin. She turned the phone to him and it showed a picture of Kagami and Tsukasa together in their swimsuits at the beach when they took a vacation with Konata, Miyuki, Yui, and their teacher. The first thing Ryuji could see in the picture was how close Tsukasa was clinging to her sister and he was able to put it together.

"Oh so is that Tsukasa?" Ryuji asked as he turned back to watch Kagami keep dancing and saw her bend down to one man who slipped a yen bill into her thong strap.

Miyakawa looked back at the phone. "It is."

The psychotic girl dug into her pocket and slowly pulled out a switchblade knife. She flicked the blade out and couldn't help but play with the weapon as she smiled and also reached down her shirt and pulled a homemade piece of jewelry out. It was a necklace consisting of over a dozen human teeth with the one from their latest robbery now tied around it. Miyakawa giggled sinisterly as she looked at the picture while playing with her knife and necklace.

"So you're really going to do it?" Ryuji asked. "You're really going to kill that Tsukasa girl?"

Keeping her sadistic grin held firm, Miyakawa sighed happily. "Only slightly, dear cousin. Only slightly. I'm going to take something more valuable than even her own life. Her innocence."

Miyakawa closed the phone and watched Kagami finish her dance and was met with thunderous applause from the audience.

"How lovely…" Miyakawa whispered.


	21. Chapter 21

CHAPTER 20

Kagami slowly awoke the next morning in a strange bed. The rising sunrays peeking through another tattered curtain warmed her face and she twitched several times until she lifted her eyes and they were met with the burning light. Her vision was blurry at first but as her eyes adjusted to the intrusive light, Kagami was finally able to pull herself up in the bed. She nearly shrieked in terror when she realized she was naked and quickly held the bed sheet over her breasts and looked around.

The bedroom was nothing short of an ensemble from a horror movie set. The walls were painted black with satanic symbols also painted in red with trails moving downward resembling dripping blood. Paintings of demons and scenes of humans and even animals being tortured were also painted on the wall with the symbols. On one of the walls, a large crucifix was hanging but the figure nailed to the cross was a fake decomposing skeleton. Kagami's eyes quickly caught movement on one of the dressers and saw a fish tank used as a cage for two black scorpions being kept as pets and were in the midst of eating two baby mice. Kagami continued looking around the room and saw many candlesticks, some in gothic designs and were covered with melted wax. The candles sitting in them had been burned down completely and some were still smoking with Kagami unaware that they were used to illuminate the room last night when she and Miyakawa slept together. Other weapons including swords, axes, and a mace were also scattered around the room and above Kagami's head was the ceiling fan, the blades of the fan replaced with replicas of human femur bones, at least Kagami assumed they were replicas. A large lamp was also standing in the corner with a human skull as a cover, Kagami once again assuming it was a replica.

The doorknob slowly turned and Kagami winced when it turned but breathed a sigh of relief when Yuka Miyakawa walked inside with a towel wrapped around her naked body and one wrapped around her hair as she got out of the shower. When she saw Kagami was awake, she paused and started laughing.

"Well good morning sweetheart." She giggled and sat down on the bed with her. "Well, you did great on your first dance so I rewarded you and I must say…you really know how to give a woman what she wants."

Kagami blushed and quickly hid under the covers. "Cut it out! Don't go there its embarrassing!"

Miyakawa giggled again and began to rub Kagami's body hidden underneath the covers. "Don't be embarrassed, Kagami. We had a great time, especially you, you dirty girl. You made me feel things I've never felt before. I'd be proud if I were you."

Kagami pulled herself tighter under the covers. "Don't be mean, Yuka. But did I do good last night? Really? Was I beautiful? Because that means so much to me. I just…I just want to do well and make the people who care about me proud."

Because Miyakawa had a corrupt and deranged mind that went above and beyond the definition of psychotic, she was able to smell mental illnesses in anyone and when she inhaled the scent Kagami gave off, she knew the twin-tailed girl was suffering from something. She had an idea that it was some kind of personality disorder and knew that Kagami _needed_ attention along with constant validation and praise or else she would collapse. To Miyakawa, encountering a girl like Kagami with a disorder like that was a wet dream because she had the manipulating skills that could brainwash her into doing whatever she wanted, as long as she continued to tell her that she was perfect in every way. Last night with the dancing and sleeping together was only further proof of it.

"You were incredible, baby girl." Miyakawa whispered softly for her while still tickling Kagami underneath the covers. "You were right about that shrine maiden costume. Wherever you got it from it definitely made the customers go wild and I've been hearing some of them say you're sexy enough to go up for bids at an auction. Maybe you and I can do it together. I wouldn't even consider something like this if you weren't perfect in every way."

Kagami slowly lifted her head out from under the blankets. "Do…do you really mean that?"

"Do you trust me?" Miyakawa asked playfully.

The twin-tailed girl slowly came further out of her shell with a nod.

"And you must remember that those people who claim to be your parents…they don't love you. All they do is ridicule and scrutinize you. Your family doesn't love you, Kagami, but we do. They don't understand how talented you truly are at this lifestyle and they'll never want to understand." Miyakawa continued. "Your late sister Matsuri showed she didn't care about you with how she treated you after you met Ryuji after the party and you decided to cut loose a bit and have a few drinks. Your mother definitely doesn't love you if she went bat-shit crazy over a few inanimate objects that you needed to help get your fix. To me, that's being cruel and sadistic to a beautiful creature like you."

Kagami looked away. "But…but Tsukasa always was…"

"What? There for you? Or were you there for her and nothing more? She doesn't love you, she just wanted you around to do everything for her. I bet she was the kind of girl who 'forgot' things when you were in school like notes or textbooks and you had to be there to bail her out." Miyakawa continued meticulously. "Oh my dear Kagami, she just saw you as a tool to get her through life. I bet she's already forgotten all about you and has moved on to leech off another innocent girl. Your family…they're no good. But don't worry, Kagami, we are…and we'll always be here for you. Always."

Kagami continued to glance around. "After all I've done for them? After all the love I showed them…and for them to treat me like that? You're right, Yuka, they're the worst. I never want to go back there."

Miyakawa formed her infamous teeth-bearing grin. "Of course. Please stay with me, Kagami…forever."

Kagami looked back at Miyakawa. "Yuka…I…I…I love you."

"I love you too. Come here." Miyakawa said and lowered herself to Kagami and kissed her gently. When they pulled out of the kiss, Miyakawa added, "Look, there are a few other things we need to talk about. I was talking to Ryuji a few hours ago and he's been telling me a few unsettling things about our drug business. We may need to make a few changes and we'll need your help of course."

Kagami tilted her head with intrigue. "What do I have to do?"

"Well we're going to have to start knocking over pharmacies now because they sell normal medicine that can be used to make cheap meth. The gang we used to do business with is starting to cut us off with that drug and a few others." Miyakawa informed with bitterness when speaking of their soon-to-be former business associates.

"Why are they cutting us off?" Kagami asked.

"The official reason is supply and demand. Prices are going up and they want us to pay more for less. But I think there's more to it than just that. I think they just want us out and move on to clients that'll bow to their every whim." Miyakawa replied. "We're not afraid of them and there were a few instances when push came to shove and we think that a conflict may be on the horizon with these fuckers."

Kagami barely understood the dialogue regarding the schematics of the looming drug conflict. All she heard was that her addictions were at risk again and she wasn't going to let more withdrawal set in. Miyakawa was still talking but Kagami had gone over eight hours without her latest fix so her words were about as clear as nails in a blender. Kagami interrupted Miyakawa and asked where she kept the goods so she could stay focused on everything. Because Miyakawa was who she was, there was plenty of crack and some remaining crystal meth in her nightstand drawer, which Kagami wasted no time in smoking.

When Kagami got her fix back and she felt as close to normal as she could get again, Ryuji came by a little later to give a few updates. They were planning on shoplifting from local pharmacies around the area for specific drugs, mostly cough medicine and cosmetics that had specific chemical elements that once isolated from the drug, could be used to cook homemade meth. Though it wouldn't be the same quality product as they were used to, the average junkie on the street or first time users wouldn't notice the difference unlike experienced professionals like Ryuji Katsumoto and Yuka Miyakawa. Kagami of course was onboard, especially when she knew that her two friends would have her back.

Later that day, the three partners in crime arrived at their first pharmacy and began to put a coordinated plan into action. While they sat in their van and dressed in normal street clothes to attract less attention, Ryuji took out a normal cigarette while Miyakawa unscrewed a small tube of light yellow liquid. Ryuji dipped the tip of the cigarette into the yellow liquid and lit it up. The yellow liquid was PCP and as Ryuji continued to smoke the cigarette, his nerves began to numb and he was now immune to any pain. Someone could either break a glass bottle over his head or shank him and he wouldn't feel a thing. It was all a part of their plan.

Ryuji and his cousin walked into the pharmacy together holding hands to give off the impression that they were a dating couple. Miyakawa had to hold onto her cousin and make it look like a convincing act because one of the side effects of PCP was losing one's balance so she was propping her cousin up. Before they entered, they instructed Kagami to wait for two minutes and then enter the pharmacy and immediately head for the cold and flu section. When the twin-tailed girl did just that, she simply waited for the signal to grab as much Sudafed and other drugs containing Pseudoephedrine salts as possible and stash them in her purse. Kagami didn't have to wait long.

A sudden crash echoed in the pharmacy, followed up by the sound of glass shattering and Miyakawa instantly screamed her lungs out. It grabbed the entire attention of the crowd in the pharmacy and everyone, including all the store workers, rushed over towards the back to see what had happened. Ryuji got on his knees and when no one was looking, he drove his head through the glass door of a soft drink refrigerator, shattering the glass and cutting his head open, though he didn't feel a thing.

The large puddles of blood on the floor and all over the shattered glass was enough to send the pharmacy into a panic as Miyakawa's screaming acting voice aided in this. "Oh god, my boyfriend! My boyfriend! He isn't feeling well and that's why we're here! Someone please help him! Help him!"

Concerned onlookers instantly got on their cell phones to call for an ambulance while Kagami made her move. When all the attention was on them, she began piling box after box of the drugs into her purse as she breathed deeply and trembled with pulsing adrenaline. It only took a matter of seconds until she cleaned off the entire shelf and her purse was filled to the top with the stolen drugs and she began to make her exit. Kagami was able to escape the pharmacy and Miyakawa watched her leave without incident, prompting her to keep her act going.

"Come on baby, we need to get you home and stop this bleeding!" Miyakawa said and was even able to release a few tears as she pulled her cousin up and began leading him to the front door.

The customers in the pharmacy and some of the workers tried to intervene and keep the faux couple there until the ambulance could arrive but Miyakawa remained persistent. She practically had to get physical with some of the onlookers as they tried to keep them nearby until professional help arrived but it was no use. Miyakawa carried Ryuji's arm over her shoulder out of the pharmacy and they got into their van. The onlookers watched in shock and confusion at what just happened and the strange couple began driving down the street until they rounded a corner, where they saw Kagami running with all her might until she turned her head and saw the van.

The vehicle slowed down and the sliding door opened with Miyakawa holding her arms out and Kagami threw her the purse. When it was secured in the van, Miyakawa pulled Kagami in and the team continued their getaway. It would be the first of many successful robberies that day in pursuit of their filthy career choice that also furthered Kagami's downward spiral. She had no idea that simple shoplifting would eventually lead her down the road of gruesome bloodshed and murder.

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A large white door opened at a luxurious home across town and Miyuki Takara stood in the foyer of her home as she answered it upon hearing the doorbell ring. She had to look down slightly and saw her blue-haired friend in Konata standing on her front step with an anxious look on her face.

"Konata-san, what a pleasant surprise. What brings you all the way out here?" Miyuki asked with curiosity.

Konata took a deep breath and sighed. "I was hoping we could talk…about the Hiiragi elephant in the room."

Hearing the euphemism prompted Miyuki to mimic Konata's sigh and she invited her friend into her large home. Because it was such a nice day out, the two sat outside in the backyard garden under the large umbrella standing above a circular table with two chairs on each side of the table. Miyuki invited Konata to sit down while she brought two glasses of iced tea out for them.

"I'm glad you came to visit me, Konata-san, but I'm afraid I do not know if there is much I can do." Miyuki said as she sat down with Konata after serving the drinks.

Konata took a sip of the cold drink on the warm day and turned to Miyuki. "How much do you know of what's happening to them?"

Miyuki placed her hand under her chin to think. "Let me see…I do know that one of their daughters died tragically in a car accident and one of Kagami-san's friends was also murdered in a strange occurrence, and that Kagami-san has been experimenting with drugs but that's about it."

Konata sighed. "I'm afraid it's much, much worse than that. Tsukasa has been texting and calling me nonstop ever since this all began and it turns out that Kagami has been stealing from her family to get drug money. Worst part of all is that Tsukasa walked in on Kagami prostituting herself the other day."

Miyuki quickly gasped in fright and horror while covering her mouth with both hands. She slowly shook her head as her eyes flooded with broken emotions. "No, no…no that cannot be true, Konata-san. Kagami-san would never…"

"I'm afraid so. She ran out of valuables in her own home to sell so there was only one other thing to sell; herself." Konata said while trying to keep the lump in her throat hidden. "I also heard that a lot of robberies have been happening in your neighborhood recently."

Miyuki nodded. "Come to think of it there has been. I remember seeing something so horrible on the news a few days ago. A man was bludgeoned to death by a robber while his wife stood and watched in terror from the front door."

"I see…" Konata replied with remorse.

Miyuki was able to connect the dots that Konata as hinting at. "Wait…you don't think that…Kagami-san…"

"I don't _want_ to…but I have a sinking feeling that I _have_ to, Yuki-chan."

A long awkward pause was initiated between the two of them. At least they had the singing melodies of birds chirping in the trees nearby to keep it from becoming completely quiet. The two friends didn't have to say it but they were taking a break from the morbid topics to enjoy the beautiful spring day in Miyuki's backyard. Konata envied a backyard as picturesque as Miyuki's. The abundant green lawn, the rows and rows of colorful flowers with butterflies fluttering around them, and the trickling sound of a water fountain nearby all made for one beautiful collective natural ensemble.

Miyuki knew that they still had issues to discuss so she nervously cleared her throat and replied, "Um…Konata-san, I do truly sympathize with what the Hiiragi family is going through, but what exactly did you have in mind for coming over here today?"

Konata nodded and turned back to Miyuki. "Tsukasa and her family have been going to a therapist who believes that she may be able to issue some kind of warrant to detain Kagami for psychological reasons, but I'm not optimistic about it. I believe this is going to need more of a hands-on approach and we're going to need to reach Kagami directly. I don't think throwing Kagami into some bureaucratic system is going to do anyone any good, especially her. Whatever she's into, she believes that those drugs are her best friends now and if something is going to be done, we need to make sure Kagami knows that she's still our friend and that we love her. If we try to just simply pluck her off the streets and take her freedoms away, it'll only further isolate her from us and her family. If we allow the police to simply take her away then she'll resent us forever and we'll never get her back."

Miyuki couldn't help but see Konata's point. "I understand where you're coming from Konata-san, but I'm afraid my question still stands. What is it that you have in mind for coming over here today?"

Konata scratched her chin. "I have a plan. It's a long shot…but I still think it's better than Kagami finding out the hard way that her family put out a psychological warrant on her behind her back. My plan is to stage an intervention. It'll be a joint effort on everyone's part with friends and family. I'm planning on personally visiting all our friends and her friends and bringing them up to speed on what's been going on. Everyone will write their own speeches to Kagami to try and break through this wall that the drugs have built around her mind. Yuki-chan, I came here to ask you if you'll take part in Kagami's intervention to try and save her."

Miyuki began nodding before Konata could even finish her request. The moisture in her eyes began to thicken when she replied. "Of course, Konata-san. I'll do anything. We need to save our friend."

Konata nodded back.

"But I do have one concern though."

Konata tilted her head as a symbolic invite for Miyuki to divulge more to her.

"What are the chances of this ending in success?"

When Miyuki watched her blue-haired friend close her eyes and look away with a sigh, she was given her answer even before Konata vocalized it. "Not good. But we still have to try. Miyuki…if you heard how Tsukasa sounded over the phone every time she would call me about what was happening. It would break your heart. All I hear is her crying and though she never asked for it, the tone of her broken voice is always begging for help. To think…this girl could desire or wish for anything in this world but she only wants one thing. She just wants her sister home despite everything that Kagami has done to her and her family."

Miyuki looked away. "Tsukasa-san…she's so pure and loving. I don't even think it's possible for her to feel anything other than love. So…what's your plan for this intervention?"

"It's going to take some time to get ready. I still need to visit everyone that'll matter in some way, shape, or form to Kagami, everyone needs to write their speeches, and we still need to tackle the biggest obstacle of all. We need to find Kagami and figure out a way to get her to attend the intervention." Konata added while continuing to think. "Unfortunately I don't think that she'll go to her own intervention peacefully or willingly, so I'm afraid that we're going to have to lie to her. First I'll need to gain her trust but that issue itself will prove to be difficult because I'm sure that she sees the drugs as her best friend. From there, we'll all have to play our part in bringing her back."

The pink-haired girl gulped and knew this was going to be a painful experience that she was immune to up until now. She had a sinking feeling that she was about to be sucked into this cataclysm that had found the Hiiragi family but knew that it was a necessary chain of futuristic events for her. Kagami was one of her friends and Miyuki couldn't sit idly by on the sidelines with a clean conscience if she knew there was something she could do. Never in Miyuki's worst nightmare would she imagine that despite her love and desire to help Kagami, she too was slowly venturing down a path of endless darkness and pain that would ultimately threaten her life.

"If I may ask, who else have you spoken to so far regarding this intervention, Konata-san?" Miyuki asked politely.

"My cousin Yu-chan is already onboard and is writing her speech as we speak and as far as I know she has been talking to Minami-chan about it too." Konata replied. "I still need to talk to Minegishi-san, Hiyorin, and Patty-chan. It shouldn't be too much of a chore enlisting Minegishi considered how close she and Misakichi were."

Miyuki nodded. "I must say Konata-san that I am very impressed. It seems that you are going to great lengths to try and help Kagami-san. Now I cannot help but feel languid in my own pursuits in helping her."

Konata shook her head. "Don't talk like that, Miyuki-san. Just by being there so that Kagami can see another familiar and supporting face is already more than enough."

The pink-haired girl sighed and looked up at the white streaks of clouds gently drifting across the blue spring sky. She couldn't help but envy their carelessness and detachment to any earthly obligations and drama. Miyuki took a breath and replied, "I still must hope for the best, even if it is a little bit quixotic."

"Like I said, I can't stand listening to Tsukasa cry for help anymore. This intervention does already have a high chance of failing…but as of now it's the only shot we have as far as I can see." Konata finished and joined her friend in looking up at the thin strips of white.

Konata Izumi and Miyuki Takara may have been at opposite ends of intellect and upbringing, but at the same time they were both realists and saw things from a logical point of view. As much as it pained them to even think about, there was a greater chance that this intervention in the making would push Kagami further away from them before it would help her. The kind of mess Kagami was in was on a level where no one would see the error of her ways for her. It would have to be a quest she would have to take for herself and make mistake after mistake until she would one day wake up and realize the true depth of her problems. Unfortunately if Kagami didn't realize any of this soon, it would be too late for her to have any shot at redemption, if she would even make it that far. It was still common sense that the life of a drug addicted prostitute on the streets was unnecessarily short.

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As yet another sun began to set in just another day in the dysfunctional life of Kagami Hiiragi, she was in the midst of learning a new street skill. Homemade meth. The pharmaceuticals and even cosmetics she and her friends stole that contained the chemical elements needed to make the improvised drug were being cooked in a makeshift chemistry set in Miyakawa's apartment kitchen. As the product neared completion, Kagami continued to watch and learn until Miyakawa reached under her sink and grabbed a bottle of ammonia.

"Okay sweet face, come here." Miyakawa instructed as a burning cigarette sat in her mouth and the twin-tailed girl followed the order. "Take this jug and slowly pour it into the pot."

Kagami took the plastic jug and gently tilted it upward and allowed the potently aromatic liquid into a large pot of boiling water where countless particles of solid mass were beginning to take shape. The liquid addition made puffs of steam lift upward out of the pot and Miyakawa already had her kitchen window wide open so the powerful fumes could escape her home. Kagami nearly gagged several times as she emptied the bottle into the pot and backed away.

Miyakawa turned the stovetop down a few notches and also took a step back while taking another drag on her cigarette. "Okay that should do it. We're going to have to let it simmer for half an hour to let the ammonia soak into the meth and then we can turn the stove off. From there we'll drain the liquid and presto! Instant meth."

Kagami giggled lightly. "You're so smart, Yuka."

Miyakawa extinguished her cigarette in an ashtray on her kitchen table and sat down next to Ryuji, who was going over the potential numbers with a calculator and a pen and pad of paper. The top of his head was wrapped in bandages from his extreme dedication to a life of putrid substances. "Of course, my dear. I've been doing this since I was a teenager."

Kagami sat down across from her and was still perked by curiosity. "So Ryuji, how much will all of this make us?"

Ryuji scribbled different numbers on the paper and sighed. "Unfortunately not enough. Those gangbangers across town knew the demand for this shit would go up and that's why they decided to cut us out of the supply. Every junkie and bum in the streets knows that they're the ones to go to for the quality products since we're just the pushers of them so all we're selling is a knockoff product. If we're able to sell all that stuff before it goes bad then we'll make some profit but still borderline break even. The biggest problem is that they know we're not afraid of them and they won't back down because they want to be the kingpins."

"Fuck…" Miyakawa groaned and looked at Kagami. "Looks like you and I are going to have to work extra hard so you better get out there on the blocks tonight and earn your cut."

Kagami looked away. She was willing to once again sell her body to the lowest forms of life on the planet but Miyakawa could still see remnants of the old Kagami screaming no every step of the way. "Okay, Yuka, I'll do it…as long as you're on the street with me…"

Miyakawa was tiring of Kagami's reluctance to fly solo on her prostitution runs. The only time Kagami did it alone so far was her first time and the times she was in the comfort of her own home. Kagami was still scared of the whole concept that was prostitution and only felt comfortable doing it with Miyakawa nearby. Miyakawa knew that Kagami would never be able to "live to her fullest potential" if she was always holding her hand. The psychotic young woman saw Kagami as an animal that needed to be trained to be on its own, almost like a parent teaching its child to grow up and how to survive in the real world. Of course, Miyakawa was the furthest thing from a loving parent.

"Oh sweetheart I don't think I'm up for it tonight. I want you to work the block alone tonight. Don't worry about a thing; just stay calm and be yourself and the rest will be cake." Miyakawa gripped her head and pretended to have a headache. "Remember, the customer is always right, no matter what they want."

Kagami looked around nervously. "But…but what if someone tries to…hurt me?"

Miyakawa stood and cupped Kagami's cheeks in her hands. "Remember this morning when you said that you loved me and that we're the only family you need now?"

Hypnotized by Miyakawa's eyes, intimate touch, and soothing voice, Kagami slowly nodded as she blushed.

"Well this is what we do as a family. We help each other out and lift each other up when one of us is feeling down." Miyakawa whispered lovingly and resembled a comforting voice like Miki Hiiragi. "Now if you _really_ love me, you'll get out there and earn our money for us. Remember if anything happens to you to come to us. We'll always look after you, Kagami. Now get out there and don't be afraid to show off every inch of this sexy little body of yours. You know how beautiful and perfect you are to me, right?"

Kagami felt a weak smile tug at the corners of her mouth. The only response she could muster was a slight nod and she returned to Miyakawa's room to change her wardrobe. Kagami returned a few minutes later and was once again wearing a revealing ensemble with a mini skirt and a small tight top that showed off her chest and most of her stomach. Miyakawa paid Kagami another compliment on how beautiful she looked to finally get her out the door and the twin-tailed girl thought she was doing her friends a favor by selling herself for them. She had no idea she was coming to a point in her career where every time she would allow some deranged pervert to defile her, Miyakawa and her cousin were planning on keeping all her money with no cut. They would throw her some drugs every now and then to keep her addicted and to keep her body for sale but other than that, Kagami would get nothing for everything that was good about herself that she was sacrificing. According to Ryuji and his cousin, times were getting tougher for them financially so someone had to take a pay cut and their minds they were too important and valuable to lose any income, leaving only Kagami.

It didn't take long until Kagami got her first customer of the night. A two-door car pulled alongside Kagami and the driver rolled down his window. Kagami's memory of her last hallucination began to replay itself when she saw the man in the car was severely overweight with a goatee, bald head, and was wearing glasses. His hair was black and covered in dandruff and the inside of the car smelled like the inside of a sweaty gym bag. He was also wearing an otaku t-shirt, an exact copy of one that Konata used to wear.

_Wait…what did my hallucination of Kusakabe say again? Don't get in the car with fat guys…or something?_

"Hey sexy lady, are you offering tonight?" He asked.

Kagami shook her head to get the first thought out of her head and continued to fake interest in her next customer. "Why yes I am, handsome. You looking for a little company tonight?"

"Absolutely, as long as it's with you." He replied happily. "How much and what do I get?"

"It's twenty five thousand dollars for a full hour and straight sex." Kagami replied and played with the hem of her skirt as a temptation. "Of course a few other acts will cost you extra."

"Sounds good. Hop in." He invited and Kagami stomped out her cigarette and got in the car with him.

Though Kagami was still learning and becoming more street wise, she still wasn't wise enough to realize what her latest customer was doing. Usually her customers would prefer to be in a dark, secluded alley where no bystanders would come across them, or where any cops would find them. Instead, this customer chose an alley next to a nightclub and the noisy music and pulsing bass covered all the other noises within the entire block. This spot was chosen so no one would be able to hear Kagami's screams for help and of searing pain.

When the car was tucked in the solitude of the shadows, what started out as a routine transaction suddenly went bad for Kagami. As the customer wanted, no one could hear her cry no and scream for help. The exciting atmosphere of the club and people flocking past the car also hindered them from seeing Kagami trying to crawl through the windshield as she cried until she once again screamed in intrusive and tearing pain.


	22. Chapter 22

CHAPTER 21

While Ryuji Katsumoto continued to wrap and package the homemade meth in addition to figuring out the fixed price he needed to set for his team to gain some income, Yuka Miyakawa couldn't help but hit the streets again for her own personal rounds of prostitution merely because she was bored. Though she initially told Kagami she wasn't up for it this night, she couldn't deny the fact that she loved it and was proud to be a slut. She had lusts of darkness that could never be fully satisfied whether it was for sex or for bloodshed.

An SUV pulled over to the side of the street at a little past two o'clock that morning and Miyakawa stepped out. She had finished another session with a different client and when he drove away, she wasted no time in counting the money she was raking in. It was already proving to be a busy night as this was her fourth customer but to her the night was still young and ripe for activities. Miyakawa still had no sense of dignity or humanity either for herself or how she treated others. She was an animal inside but regrettably, it didn't start out that way for her. All horror stories have a beginning and hers was about as bad as it could get, though her current persona didn't paint it that way. What happened to her was truly the epiphany of childhood tragedy.

She strutted down the sidewalk and passed other pedestrians. Sometimes people would shoot dirty looks at her while others would either laugh or whistle. Miyakawa didn't care about anyone's opinion though, which was basically part of her job description anyway. It would be unusual for a self-admitted stripper, drug dealer and addict, prostitute, murderer, and thief to care about image. As Miyakawa walked down the street, she approached a nightclub with pulsing bass and music echoing across the entire block.

As she walked past the entrance to a dark alley, she stepped on something that crunched beneath her boot and she stopped. She took a step back and saw a broken skull hairclip, the same one she gave to Kagami at The Black Window during the rogue Hiiragi's transformation. Miyakawa was quickly able to put two and two together and she looked down the dark alleyway and had a feeling that one of Kagami's transactions didn't go so well so she decided to investigate. Walking into the alley, she was expecting to find Kagami's raped and robbed dead body somewhere, probably in a dumpster. It wouldn't be the first time one of Miyakawa's recruits ended up that way and she was already disappointed. She was hoping to get more out of Kagami before she would be killed.

The further she got into the alley, she suddenly heard something. She could hear Kagami's crying voice and Miyakawa reached into her purse and retracted a small flashlight. Miyakawa pointed it around the dirty alley and suddenly spotted movement. She was able to see two black boots pull themselves behind a dumpster and Miyakawa slowly walked over to the large trash bin and turned around it.

She found Kagami curled in a ball on the moldy cement next to the leaking dumpster and she was crying. Her one hand was covering her face in an attempt to hide from the light but Miyakawa noticed Kagami's other hand was covering her buttocks, as if she was trying to shield it. Miyakawa bent down to Kagami and saw blood seeping through Kagami's fingers covering her face.

"Kagami? It's me, Yuka." She said.

While she trembled, Kagami slowly removed her hand and showed the damage done to her face. She had a black eye, a bloody nose, and a fat lip also bleeding. Her first customer of the night requested something that Kagami wasn't ready for so she refused and when she tried to leave, he took it from her. When Kagami tried to fight back and escape, he hit her until she was too weak to fight back anymore and had no choice but to take it from start to finish.

"Yuka…!" Kagami cried. "I tried to fight back but he…he…he raped me…anally!"

Miyakawa rolled her eyes in frustration. To her, Kagami was weak and still didn't grasp her twisted concept of "the customer is always right." Regardless, she still had an obligation to Kagami to comfort her so she could keep the twin-tailed Hiiragi in the business so she reached out to console the violated girl. As she touched Kagami's shoulder, she screamed and retracted tighter.

"Don't touch me! It hurts! It hurts everywhere! I never felt anything so painful in my life!" Kagami shrieked to the point where her vocal cords nearly tore apart but the music from the club still buried her wails. "I'm bleeding down there! I need to go to a hospital!"

Miyakawa shined her light to Kagami's hand covering her buttocks and sure enough, she saw a trail of blood leaking through her fingers. The psychotic friend of Kagami moved back to her crying face and said, "We need to get you on your feet before any cops show up and we're not going to any hospital."

Kagami trembled and coughed as a result of such trauma. "But…but it hurts so much and my butt is bleeding! He didn't even use a condom so I might have a disease now! What am I going to do?! What am I going to do?! It feels like its split open! I don't even want to look at what he did!"

"You're a hooker now, Kagami. The concept of rape doesn't exist anymore; it's now considered aggressive role-playing. Also, if we take you to a hospital and we tell them it was rape, they're going to call the cops. They'll find out who you are and they'll find out who I am. They've been looking for me for months and you don't want them to arrest me, do you?" Miyakawa tried to make herself into the victim while completely disregarding what happened to Kagami. "Worst of all they're going to take you away from us and your drugs. Is that what you want?"

The distraught twin-tailed girl gripped her face tighter and muttered something.

"What was that?" Miyakawa asked.

"I said no, I don't want that!" Kagami screamed suddenly and kept crying. "But that son of a bitch sodomized me! What's this going to do to my body from now on?! That fucker even robbed me!"

Hearing this prompted more attention from Miyakawa. It wasn't the fact that Kagami was violated that enraged her, but it was the fact that she was ripped off by some animal that made her blood boil. Miyakawa showed her anger when she hissed, "What did he look like? We'll find him and make him pay."

Kagami was so distraught by what happened to her that she didn't even realize that Miyakawa was more enraged that the money was gone over her own traumatic experience. The quivering twin-tailed girl did her best to recall the man's description but Miyakawa already had a feeling she knew who she was talking about halfway through the portrayal. She had come across him before both as a client on the streets and as a dancer in Teasers. He was a high school dropout loser who lived off the government welfare and spent all the money he received on strippers and prostitutes. He also had no problem living off his parents as well. Miyakawa still didn't care that Kagami was raped this way but still knew that since she was still alive, she had to get her out of the streets and back to her apartment before any passing cops would spot them.

"Come on let me help you up. We need to get out of here." Miyakawa said and began to pull Kagami up by her arm until she screamed again and refused to move.

The pain was too unbearable and Kagami still demanded medical attention, much to Miyakawa's growing frustration. It took a few more minutes of convincing Kagami that she has seen her fair share of injuries after prostitution and promised that she would help her with the pain and any physical damage. Miyakawa also weighed the possibility of finishing Kagami herself right there on the spot by slitting her throat and letting the crime scene investigators chop it up to simply another deranged solicitor raping, robbing, and killing another prostitute. What stopped her though was the fact that Miyakawa still believed Kagami was a worthwhile investment that still needed time to keep paying off so she helped her to her feet.

Miyakawa carried the limping Kagami by her arm over her shoulder all the way back to her apartment, where Ryuji still sat and worked. He didn't expect Kagami to return in such a broken condition but like his cousin he simply didn't care and resumed working when Miyakawa took Kagami to her room without giving her a second look or thought. When all the homemade meth was packaged and ready to hit the streets, Ryuji waited outside Miyakawa's bedroom for her to return.

About an hour after the two girls returned, Miyakawa exited her room and removed two rubber gloves over her hands upon finishing her examination of Kagami's violated rectum. Miyakawa walked into her living room and saw her cousin smoking a cigarette and sat down next to him while also lighting one up.

"So…what's the word, doc?" He asked.

Miyakawa rolled her eyes. "She'll live. She has some tissue damage and it'll probably scar but other than that she'll be fine by tomorrow night. What pisses me off the most though is that she couldn't keep her goddamn money hidden in a smart place and she just let that fat fuck take it from her. What the hell kind of hooker hides her cash in her pockets like she's out shopping? What is she selling her body or running a charity?"

"You know who took it?" Ryuji asked.

Miyakawa nodded as she angrily puffed out a cloud of smoke. "I'm pretty sure it was Kozuka again. What he did to Kagami sounds like something he'd be into."

"So what are you going to do?"

Miyakawa paused until Ryuji watched his cousin form a conniving grin and chuckle. "He's on my client list at Teasers so I'm going to call him, invite him over for a private dance, fix him a nice meal and then…we'll never see him again."

Ryuji rolled his eyes. "Oh come on Yuka just let it go. Itou has been warning you to stop turning your private underground rooms into slaughterhouses. You of all people know how long it takes for that kind of smell to escape a room that's twenty feet underground."

Miyakawa giggled again. "I know, Ryuji, I know…but I'm not going to let this one go. You steal my money, I steal your organs. Sounds like a fair eye for an eye setup to me."

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Tsukasa Hiiragi held her hands together as she leaned slightly forward and prayed at her family's shrine for yet another round of requesting spiritual assistance. She not only prayed at Matsuri's grave but also to her family's home shrine in the hopes that the gods or her sister's soul would hear her pleas and return Kagami to her safely. Not a single day went by since Kagami attacked her and her family that Tsukasa didn't pray in one way, shape, or form. Tsukasa was still trying to recover from the trauma she endured during their last meeting when she was forced to nearly watch Kagami murder her mother before her own eyes if it weren't for Inori.

Suddenly, the loose stones lining the walkway scattered, creating a noise and Tsukasa quickly turned with a giant smile on her face believing her prayers were answered. Though she was happy to see her, Tsukasa didn't show it externally when she saw Konata walk towards her and the youngest Hiiragi sighed and turned back to the temple monument she prayed to.

Konata patted Tsukasa on her back and said, "I'm sorry I bet you were hoping I was somebody else."

Tsukasa slowly shook her head. "Don't apologize, Kona-chan. I'm always glad to see you but…I just wish sis would come home."

Konata nodded. "How's your family doing?"

"Well, the doctors allowed my mom to stop wearing her neck brace but the bruises are still there." Tsukasa started calmly but began to become emotional when she remembered something that happened only a few hours ago. "My mom and dad were out grocery shopping and they were getting all of these…horrible looks…from everyone when they saw my mom's neck and my dad's injuries. They thought they were _that_ kind of couple that…hurts each other. A police officer even stopped them to ask a few questions. I can't imagine how embarrassed they were…"

Tsukasa covered her face and tried to hide her tears but Konata knew how sensitive her friend was over this subject and she hugged her. Because Tsukasa always had a desire to be comforted, she quickly turned and returned the hug with even tighter vigor, nearly squeezing the life out of the petite blue-haired girl. When Tsukasa released Konata, she took a few deep breaths and kept engaging Tsukasa.

"Tsukasa, I know things are tough now and you're hurting, but the rest of your friends and I are working as we speak to bring Kagami back. I just came from your house where I was talking to your family and they decided that my idea to stage an intervention for Kagami would be best seeing as how that psychological detention request is going to take so long to get, if you even get it." Konata said. "Of course finding Kagami and bringing her to the intervention will be one of the hardest parts and I unfortunately cannot promise you that it'll work."

It caught Konata by surprise to see Tsukasa completely disinterested in her plan. Tsukasa shrugged and replied, "Kona-chan…please…find her. I want to give Kagami one more chance before we send her away. An intervention means that sis will go to a treatment center, right?"

Konata nodded. "If she agrees, yes."

"I don't want that. I want her to trust me and the rest of us enough to open up and let us help her with her pain before some treatment center does where there are only strangers who don't know Kagami like we do. She's suffering because she's lost people she truly cared about and they won't be able to understand or help my sis unless they also knew Matsuri and Kusakabe-san." Tsukasa ranted while Konata couldn't help but tilt her head in admiration for Tsukasa's growing maturity and powers of observation. "To some treatment center workers, Kagami will just be another drug addict but she's so much more than that. She needs someone who has been in her position before and is able to connect with her at the same level of pain Kagami feels."

Konata scratched her head. "Those are all very profound words, Tsukasa, but who could possibly understand and even appreciate the pain Kagami is going through in losing her sister and friend?"

Tsukasa turned to Konata. "Our therapist, Dr. Kishimoto."

The blue-haired girl tilted her head in confusion, allowing Tsukasa to continue.

"Dr. Kishimoto gave me her personal cell phone number and email address to talk anytime I wanted and I've been talking to her about my feelings and she told me a few things." Tsukasa replied. "She and Kagami are so much alike…because she too was a heroin addict at one point and even tried to commit suicide by cutting her wrists. She tried because something terrible happened to her baby sister when she was younger and she blamed herself for it every day. My point is that if Kagami could talk with Dr. Kishimoto, I'm almost certain that Kagami will choose to get clean on her own with our help."

Konata glanced away. "Do you really think that's possible?"

"Yes…but I still need to find Kagami. I have no idea where she's at or what she's doing now." Tsukasa quickly replied anxiously. "After watching the news, my parents think that she's somewhere in the Aku District."

Konata quickly looked back at Tsukasa with fear. "The Aku District? That's a pretty grave part of town, Tsukasa…and unfortunately I could see Kagami hanging out there. It's a cesspit of drugs, brothels, and crime."

"We have to go look for her there. I have to find Kagami and try to convince her to sit through at least one hour with Dr. Kishimoto. I'll never know another peaceful night's sleep until I can accomplish that. I'll go alone to that place if I have to." Tsukasa added with growing emotions.

Konata shook her head. "Tsukasa that place is nothing short of pure evil. If someone like you goes in there alone, you won't come back the same, if you come back at all. How about this; you keep working on Kagami's intervention as a worst case scenario plan and I'll go into the Aku District tomorrow morning first thing to find Kagami." Konata reassured Tsukasa, making new rays of hope appear in Tsukasa's eyes. "Just make sure you write your speech because if we need to give Kagami an intervention, she's going to need all the words of love and support she can get because she will be defiant and hostile, maybe even violent to you again but we can't give up."

Tsukasa nodded. "Kona-chan…thank you."

Konata nodded back and turned to walk away.

As the blue-haired girl kept walking, Tsukasa called to her again. "Kona-chan. This Aku District…how bad is it?"

Konata froze and turned her head to Tsukasa. "It's the very definition of the word evil. The madness that people suffer when they step foot within those borders is indescribable. I may not be as spiritual as you and your family, Tsukasa, but there truly is an endless battle of good versus evil within that area. There's nothing but relentless horrors and secrets within the Aku District."

Tsukasa felt her fear and anxiety rise but at the same time knew why Konata was so blunt with her. Rescuing Kagami from a lifestyle such as this required her to have a strong mind, body, and soul for the gruesome horrors that happened there would scar the weakest link for life. Tsukasa though believed that she was ready to endure anything and everything if it meant that Kagami would get clean and be her sister again. Tsukasa didn't even think to tell Konata about a dream she had about Matsuri last night that made her wakeup in a cold sweat. Matsuri's voice echoed in her mind and the only word she could remember was "Miyakawa."

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Though Kagami was out of commission and resting in Miyakawa's apartment so she could recover from her wound, she wasn't missed by either Miyakawa herself or the rest of the crew at Teasers the next night. The shows and private prostitution transactions continued without missing a beat, only further proving to their culture that a girl like Kagami was expendable and they didn't need her to keep the business going. As long as they had the lonely and depraved of the world, her existence was meaningless and Miyakawa could continue to further derogate the innocent and naïve.

Once again, Miyakawa was able to sniff out the loneliest and stupidest of the customers that night and his story was once again the same. A married man in a sexless and loveless marriage to a wife who was probably sleeping around herself while their children were caught in the middle of their parents' idiocy. Instead of trying to bound together as a family and sort out their problems, the father was out at Teasers spending his paycheck at the strip club instead of spending it on his children.

Miyakawa put on a show for the middle-aged man at another small stage as she danced from a different pole and he sat in a chair gazing upward at her. He dropped several yen bills for her to pick up until she had enough with the foreplay and made it more personal. She stepped off the smaller stage as the club's activities continued and continued to slowly shake her exposed midsection for him while lifting her boot up and placing it on the chair inches away from his groin.

"You are one of the kindest men I've ever met. I bet you're the only man who even cares about me at all." Miyakawa whispered seductively.

The misguided man chuckled with embarrassment. "That's not true…I'm sure your father loves you, right?"

Miyakawa got closer and sat on his lap while pulling him close. She put her lips to his ear and whispered, "My father left me when I was nine. He hit and beat my mother in front of me after…my own little incident…"

"Dear god…" he replied with shock and Miyakawa quickly stood up again while shaking her hips and seducing him further.

"I just…I'm so scared…of the big city and the world. I'm just a helpless little girl crying for help to anyone…like a charming, handsome man like you." Miyakawa continued while running her fingers around her panties, keeping the man's attention. "I need someone…to love me. To listen to me…to take care of me…to maybe even help me with some bills."

"What do you need?" He asked while opening his wallet.

"What do you have?" Miyakawa countered and looked into the wallet and eyed the many rows of bills inside.

He took several wads of cash and slipped them into Miyakawa's panty strap around her hip and she continued to dance. "And what of the rest of the goodies in your wallet?"

The man tucked the wallet back into his back pocket. "I'm sorry…but I need the rest of that money. My wife and I…we haven't been good to our two kids lately so I want to buy them each a new toy they've been dying to have forever."

Miyakawa put a fake smile on and nodded. "I understand. You're such a great man. I wish my daddy was as selfless and wonderful as you are."

Feeling better about himself, the man smiled and nodded as Miyakawa looked up at the bar behind her customer and saw Ryuji sitting there and signaling to her that the man whom she believed raped and robbed Kagami had arrived. She gave a quick nod and informed the man that she had to go but thanked him for his kindness and, as always in a convincing show, was able to sound loving and supportive for him and his situation at home.

As she walked towards her cousin, she signaled for one of the tall, muscular bouncers to follow her and the very tall and ripped man walked with the shorter and slimmer Yuka Miyakawa. Miyakawa hissed angrily, "Take another guy and follow that asshole to the parking lot. When he's alone, jump him and beat him to a bloody pulp and get the money in his wallet."

"Do you want us to kill him?" He asked in a deep, brawny voice.

Miyakawa shrugged. "If he dies, he dies. Like I give a fuck. Just make sure you get the cash but if he kicks the bucket, put his carcass in his car and take it to the usual spot and torch it. Get on it, bitch."

The bouncer nodded with a slight look of fear of the girl. "Yes ma'am."

The muscular man took another bouncer and waited for the customer to leave while Miyakawa approached Ryuji and he informed, "You're right. It was Kozuka. Turns out he's been bragging about it all day on the streets about not only what he did to Kagami but also ripping one of_ your_ girls off."

Miyakawa's eyebrow twitched. "Does he know we're on to him?"

Ryuji shook his head. "Not a clue. He's downstairs now stuffing his fat face so now's your chance."

The depraved girl giggled with a disturbing grin. "How lovely…"

As she turned and began walking towards the stairs behind the curtain that would take her down to the isolated rooms, Ryuji called out, "Yuka…take it easy this time. Really. Take it easy. Do us all a favor and make it quick."

She froze and slowly turned her head, showing Ryuji an even more insidious glare that triggered even him to gulp quickly. Miyakawa slowly shook her head and replied, "You better crank up the music, Ryuji. It's going to get very loud down there."

She turned again and disappeared behind the curtains and Ryuji sighed and reached under the bar to the stereo controls and turned up the volume. He never liked to admit it but he, just like the bouncers that were as big as mountains, were all scared of Yuka Miyakawa and her depravity.

Miyakawa knocked gently on one of the private rooms downstairs and entered it to find the same man who raped and robbed Kagami sitting at a table setup by Ryuji and was enjoying a large meal until she walked in. He didn't really seem to care that Miyakawa was coming on to him as she started dancing for him as his face was buried in the food. She was instantly annoyed by this and cleared her throat bluntly.

He looked up from his plate and said, "Hey Miyakawa. I'm kind of in the middle of the best steak of my life so step off, bitch. You know how much I love steak."

Miyakawa giggled sarcastically and muttered, "And looking at you and your three chins I wouldn't doubt that one bit."

"What was that?" He asked.

"Nothing," she replied. "Now once you're done with that, I have dessert underneath my panties for you to eat up…"

"Can't I just have the cheesecake?" He snapped as he continued to cut the meat on his plate.

Suddenly, a dagger landed on the steak and went through it to the plate, breaking it. The interruption made Kozuka look up to see Miyakawa's serpent dagger gripped in her hand and she was looking at him with eyes that contained both sexual lust and a craving for something else. Something gruesome.

"I must say, Kozuka, have you been working out…or is your fat ass still eating your pants?" Miyakawa hissed, earning a confused look from him as she slowly picked up the fork and began to look it over while adding, "Now I have something I would like to talk to you about. Last night you had some kinky fun with one of my girls which she wasn't too fond of but that's not why I'm disappointed in you. You stole from me…didn't you? Because when you steal from me…it makes me think things. Bad things…twisted things…evil things…"

Miyakawa began to lick the metal fork while moaning, only deepening Kozuka's confusion. He tilted his head and replied, "Yeah I stole your money. So what? It wasn't like I wasn't going to give it back to you anyway. You know how much money I blow on this joint."

Miyakawa stopped licking and held the fork in her hand while staring at Kozuka with lustful eyes as he continued his angry rant.

"Besides, I treated her better than you probably do. So I broke her ass open and fucked her raw. So what?" He continued. "You know I'm clean so and it was probably good for her. She's just another worthless sex toy of yours so how about you step off before I grab you and—"

It was so quick, Kozuka didn't see it coming. Miyakawa had no physical or emotional tells that she was going to do it but she did. With a sudden thrust, Miyakawa drove the metal fork into Kozuka's left eyeball and pushed it in deep. The pain exploded like a bomb and he screamed with all his might and kicked himself too far back and he fell backwards and landed on the concrete floor. His eyeball leaking blood and pus, he thrashed and kicked while screaming in pain as Miyakawa continued sitting on the table and giggled at the sight of her prey flailing in endless suffering. The fork still stood freely with it lodged deep within his eye.

Miyakawa slowly stood and walked over to him and lifted her right foot and placed the bottom of her boot on the freestanding fork. Feeling the metal utensil suddenly dig a little deeper into his eye made him scream louder in growing pain until Miyakawa shouted at him to stop or else she'd kill him. He instantly froze and looked up at Miyakawa with his one good eye and couldn't take it off her large boot only millimeters away from the fork and ready to drive it all the way into his head.

"You're right, Kozuka. Kagami Hiiragi is nothing to me but a cheap and worthless sex toy whose only purpose in life is to be fucked again and again and again, as long as she keeps bringing home the money. The second she stops making me money then she'll be thrown to the wolves but until that day…she's still _my_ property…and so is the money you stole." Miyakawa hissed with a smile. "Let this be a lesson to you, you fat inbreed. Never cross Yuka Miyakawa. Now say goodnight!"

Before Kozuka could react, Miyakawa mustered all the strength her body could create and drove her boot as hard as she could onto the fork, making it dive all the way into his eyeball. Kozuka only released half a scream until the metal prods of the fork penetrated his brain and he continued wincing and twitching on the floor as he bled everywhere. The injury he was suffering from wasn't life-threatening, but it was enough to make him disabled for the rest of his life. However, Miyakawa never intended for him to leave Teasers alive. She just wanted him to suffer and to hold power over his pain until she would finally finish him.

She bent down to him and began fishing through Kozuka's pockets until she found what she was looking for. Forming a satisfied smirk on her face, Miyakawa pulled out a large wad of yen bills; the bounty he stole from Kagami that she now planned on keeping all for herself and continuing to phase Kagami out of her financial payoffs.

"You know, I think you're even stupider than Kagami. You rape and rob one of my girls and then bring back the money to the boss's establishment to blow it on more entertainment." Miyakawa said with a giggle as Kozuka continued to groan in agony. "I think I'm fulfilling Darwin's teachings of natural selection by killing a moron like you."

Miyakawa took a step back while putting the money in her pocket and continued to giggle at the damage she had inflicted onto Kagami's rapist and sighed happily while feeling her bloodlust become satisfied for the moment. She suddenly felt her stomach rumble in hunger upon seeing the human suffering and couldn't help but feel the desire to eat the rest of Kozuka's meal. She looked at the plate and frowned at a disappointing conclusion.

"Damn it. That was my only fork, too." Miyakawa growled. "Oh well. No use bitching over blood-soaked utensils, eh Kozuka? Now hold still."

Kozuka started screaming again when Miyakawa drove her fingers into his gushing eye socket to retrieve the fork. She slowly pried it out and was able to remove the silver metal utensil from the gruesome injury as Kozuka gripped his eye socket and continued to cry from the indescribable pain. As he continued to wince and bleed on the floor, Miyakawa pulled the chair back up and sat down. Completely disregarding the fact that the fork was drenched in blood, Miyakawa still held it and picked up the food with it, allowing the red liquid to drizzle over it.

Miyakawa guided the fork into her mouth and swallowed not only the food, but the vast amounts of blood covering the fork, food and her fingers. After several more bites and continuing to ignore the ailing Kozuka on the floor, she growled at the situation and hissed, "This is disgusting. Ryuji overcooked the fucking onions again."

Regardless, Miyakawa continued to eat the rest of her blood-soaked meal.


	23. Chapter 23

CHAPTER 22

Kagami slowly lifted her eyelids and was immediately consumed by an endless sea of black. She was awake and as far as she could tell fully conscious as well but she couldn't even see her nose in the front of her face. The twin-tailed Hiiragi slowly pulled herself to her feet and couldn't help but whimper in fear as she hugged herself tightly while trying to look around the infinite darkness. She outstretched her arms as shields and began walking forward while breathing hard and feared bumping into something. The last thing she remembered was her lying on Yuka Miyakawa's bed and she was examining her pain-stricken rectum and she applied some medicine to it and Kagami eventually fell asleep.

Before she could call out a familiar name or request help, she felt and saw a light appear from behind her and cast its shadows across her. Kagami slowly turned and saw an entirely new scenery before her and it frightened her so much that she felt her blood run cold. Thousands of dead and twisted trees were standing in front of her and furthering Kagami's fear, she saw hundreds of figures hanging from the dark branches from hangman nooses while ravens and vultures began to land on the branches near the bodies. The black sky around her began to slowly turn red as blood and a haunting black and silver moon stood high within the red.

Kagami suddenly began to hear voices echo all around her. They whispered her name countless times and their tone invited her to walk forward into the twisted forest. Feeling unable to control her own legs, Kagami began to slowly walk forwards while still holding herself tightly and she felt the dead grass crunch beneath her boots. A layer of fog drifted out of the forest and curled around her ankles as she walked, sending a deep chill throughout her body and Kagami shivered. She approached the forest and the details of the hanging bodies became frighteningly clear. Human corpses were dangling from the trees by nooses while ravens sat on their shoulders and began pecking at them. Kagami nearly shrieked when she saw one of the black birds remove an eyeball from a socket and swallow it.

Other ravens cawed at her loudly with hostile vigor and Kagami suddenly began running forward into the forest until she heard a familiar voice call her name from one of the trees. She quickly looked up and Kagami couldn't contain herself any longer when she saw Matsuri with a noose secured around her neck and hanging from one of the trees. Kagami screamed her sister's name loudly and tried to climb up the tree to aid her sister's body but suddenly found it coated in a liquid and she kept slipping. Kagami took several steps back and let the moon show her that her hands and arms were coated in blood, making her scream again.

"Kagami…" Matsuri's voice whispered, making Kagami look up at her sister's hanging body and straight into her eyes and Matsuri spoke again as she hanged. "Kagami…look what you're doing to us. You're a disgrace. You're a whore."

"Matsuri, I…I…I…" Kagami stuttered in fear.

"She's right. You're a filthy slut, Hiiragi. You've done things that not even I was perverted enough to do." Another voice said and Kagami quickly spun around and saw Misao hanging but with a raven on her shoulder.

"Ku…Kusakabe! I didn't want to do any of those things…but I needed to!" Kagami cried. "Please forgive me!"

The raven suddenly latched onto Misao's left cheek with its beak and began pulling. The dark bird soon tore the flesh off Misao's head and held the blood-dripping piece in its beak while Misao responded while appearing unfazed by the action as Kagami could see the teeth and jaw muscles through the injury. "Never Hiiragi, never. Especially because of what you'll do to your oldest sister."

As Kagami trembled, Misao slowly opened her mouth and to the twin-tailed girl's horror, a large snake slithered out of her mouth with one large eye in the center of its face with a catlike eye and a horn on its head. The snake opened its mouth, revealing two used and rusty syringes as fangs and it hissed loudly at her, making Kagami scream and she took off running through the forest. The bodies hanging from the dead trees suddenly came alive and began pointing and laughing at Kagami as she ran and cried for them to stop. Their laughs were high-pitched and some resembled childish pitches, only adding to the disturbing surroundings. Their cackling became too much for Kagami and she covered her ears and shook her head fiercely as she ran with her eyes closed.

Kagami suddenly tripped and fell to the cold ground and quickly spun on her back while looking back at the forest. To her surprise and horror, the trees and bodies hanging from them were all gone and she was alone again. She was drenched in sweat and the blood that had rubbed off from the trees. Trying to figure out what to do next, Kagami suddenly heard a quick rustle behind her and she quickly turned and saw a small puppy sitting in front of her. The puppy was light brown with some dark brown spots with big floppy ears and big innocent eyes. The small animal was so cute and Kagami couldn't help but blush slightly and she inched closer to it.

"Hello…what are you doing here cutie?" She asked.

The puppy created a human giggle and replied in a childlike squeaky voice, "I live here, Kagami."

"Then could you tell me where I am…or how to get out?" She asked nervously while looking around.

The puppy giggled again. "Oh Kagami…you still don't know where you are? That's easy, silly. It's your _fucking_ nightmare!"

The puppy's voice erupted into a deep and monstrous tone in the last sentence and it suddenly changed. The small animal sprouted spikes out of its back, its fur grew stringy and changed from brown to gray, its claws also grew and mutated into razor talons, the puppy's tail also grew and formed a large triangular spike at the tip. The puppy's eyes also glowed red and when it opened its mouth, rows and rows of spiked teeth lined the inside as it drooled and howled at Kagami, throwing green saliva that became acid and began to scorch the ground near Kagami.

Kagami screamed again and scooted backwards as the puppy started to inflate. It wasn't evolving into a much larger dog but rather it was inflating like a balloon as Kagami sat and breathed hard and showed her fear as the dog grew larger and larger until it exploded. The bang was loud and it echoed across the area and when Kagami saw the end result of the explosion, her screaming deepened. Tens of thousands of greasy maggots now covered the spot where the puppy once sat, as well as all around her and they began to crawl up her legs towards her body and she tried desperately to brush them all off as she screamed and cried for help. She quickly shot to her feet and began running again in the darkness as the slimy creatures continued to cling to her but kept falling off one at a time until they were all gone.

She ran and ran until she was out of breath and as she continued to tremble and pant in fear, Kagami collapsed to her knees and quivered. Still feeling the slime from the maggots begin to dry on her skin, she felt her stomach flip and she couldn't contain the contents of her stomach anymore. Quickly remembering to hold her hair back, Kagami vomited on the solid black shade she sat on and when it was over, her eyes looked at the spew.

The discolored liquidly mesh suddenly began to swirl like a hurricane cloud and movement began to stir under it. Suddenly hundreds of tiny demons with horns, glowing eyes, long spiked tails, and fangs began to rise out of it and chant Kagami's name and she could hear them say "join us, Kagami" over and over again. Kagami once again stood up as quickly as she could and before she began to run, another bright light caught her attention and she looked up.

Rows of tall waving grass were obscuring her vision to the bright light on the other side and she suddenly smelled smoke. The smell was followed up by screaming and laughing. She recognized the screaming and it horrified Kagami when she identified them as belonging to her parents. Kagami disregarded the small demons still talking to her and she crawled forward to the grass and parted them with her hands. The puppy's earlier words of this setting being her nightmare was truly confirmed for her when she saw what was happening before her.

Before her, she saw her mother and father tied up and hanging upside-down from trees and they were slowly being lowered into cauldrons of boiling oil as they screamed for mercy. More demonic creatures, some with hairy and grotesque pig faces, danced around them while holding pitchforks and torches and pointing them in Miki and Tadao's faces as they wept at their impending deaths. The demons laughed at their fear while some of them danced around the cauldrons of boiling liquid and Kagami could hear her parents screaming their final goodbyes to each other. It was all the twin-tailed girl could take.

"Mom! Dad!" She screamed at the top of her lungs.

Her parents looked at her with petrified stares and the demons also stopped dancing and turned to her. As they started laughing at Kagami, Miki's last words were, "Run, Kagami, run!"

Before Kagami could heed her mother's words, two of the demons cut the ropes holding Miki and Tadao up and the two plummeted and disappeared with a splash in the hot black liquid. Kagami could only scream as the demons kept laughing at her and the twin-tailed Hiiragi took her cue to turn and begin running.

As the demons kept laughing at her while dancing around Miki and Tadao's bodies that were continuing to melt in the oil, one of them called for Kagami to hear, "Victim of your own creation!"

Kagami ran as hard and as fast as she could despite how depleted of breath she was and the ground beneath her feet began to rumble and quake. It suddenly split open and began to collapse all around her. She suddenly felt unrelenting heat rise up as well as bright lights from below. Kagami quickly glanced downward while still running and saw rivers of lava and molten rock flow beneath her feet and her sweating increased as the world around her collapsed.

The ground in front of her suddenly broke apart and fell away, forcing Kagami to stop and nearly run off the side and she looked down. She watched the rest of her path disappear in the seas of lava and to her horror, she also spotted her family house further down on another ledge and sliding towards the edge. She cried for it to stop but the house finally fell off the side and plummeted to the burning sea and it landed with a splash, immediately converting it into a massive fireball until it sank beneath the crashing waves of orange and yellow.

As Kagami wept at the sight of all her childhood memories disappearing in the ocean of fire and brimstone, she suddenly heard another familiar voice whisper, "Kagami…"

Kagami quickly spun around and wanted to weep in joy upon seeing Inori standing with also a scared and crying face but she appeared to be in good health. Kagami cried her sister's name and was about to rush over to embrace her but Inori rejected it.

"Don't come near me, Kagami! Something's happening to me!" She cried. "There's something inside me and it's getting bigger!"

Inori showed her physical pain was mounting and she fell to her knees while hugging herself and groaning in rising agony while the ocean of lava sprayed bursts of the scorching liquid upward all around them. Inori suddenly vomited a large puddle of blood and screamed in pain. Kagami's panic was as hot and burning as the fiery lava below them and she kept screaming for her sister to let her assist her but Inori remained adamant about her staying away.

Suddenly, another pair of arms sprouted from below Inori's real ones, followed by another and Inori suddenly had six arms. Her slender body began to grow taller and taller and Inori continued to scream in agony as more arms sprouted out of her sides and her skin began to tear open like paper while Kagami looked up at her towering sister while still crying and screaming. Two large insect feelers suddenly sprouted from Inori's forehead and the skin around her face also began to tear and reveal a large, rough hide hiding underneath. Inori's clothes suddenly tore apart along with the rest of her skin and Kagami's screaming only increased when she stood before her biggest sister, who was now a towering centipede.

The large centipede breathed fire and aimed its feelers at Kagami, following it up by releasing a blast of gray smoke and it swallowed Kagami. The twin-tailed girl recognized it as crack cocaine smoke and she waved it away and watched the large centipede that was once her sister crawl down the side of the rocky ledge she stood on and disappear in the ocean of lava. The stunned and petrified Kagami didn't know what to do now but her growing nightmare made the next move for her.

The ground holding her up crackled, crumbled, and collapsed and Kagami fell down to the ocean of burning lava. She screamed the whole way down and felt the heat grow more and more excruciating and she saw the orange and yellow abyss begin to swirl around like another hurricane cloud and it formed a tunnel and Kagami plummeted into it and fell further and further down the sea of lava. Kagami still remained unburned or even hurt by the flames but she still felt the intense heat until she reached the bottom of the ocean and plowed through a solid layer of rock and arrived in another fiery underworld filled with demons torturing and even eating other demons. The only sound she could hear was that of screaming agony and pain from the endless torture until Kagami landed on the burning ground and quickly scrambled to her feet.

"Kagami…welcome." A deep and sinister voice said from behind her.

Kagami quickly turned and once again shrieked. Before her sat the very Grim Reaper on a throne made of human skin stitched together with its scythe leaning up against the throne. The back of the throne was lined with human bones and skulls but it wasn't the throne or even the skeletal figure that frightened Kagami the most. What hit her hardest was when she saw the crying and trembling Tsukasa on her knees with a collar around her neck and a chain leash with one end attached to the collar and the other end attached to the throne. Tsukasa was also stripped of her clothes and was wearing only a black bra and g-string, clothes she was clearly distraught over wearing and the Grim Reaper began petting Tsukasa on her head like a dog, only making her cry louder.

"Tsukasa!" Kagami cried. "Let her go!"

The Grim Reaper began to laugh at her as Tsukasa continued to cry and the skeletal figure stood while taking its scythe and said, "You should've known the price of evil and I bet it hurts to know that you belong here."

Kagami fell to her knees and cried, "Please, I beg you! Let my little sister go! Don't make her stay here forever! Take me instead!"

"Oh Kagami…your tragic fate is looking so clear!" The reaper exclaimed only this time it was in a girl's voice, taking Kagami by surprise.

The Grim Reaper reached up with its free hand towards its skull covered by the hood of its cloak and suddenly ripped it away. It dropped the skull and Kagami looked straight into the eyes of Yuka Miyakawa as the Grim Reaper still wearing the black, tattered cloak. She had a dark smile on her face with two glowing eyes and she suddenly grabbed Tsukasa's chain and pulled her head up, making Tsukasa cry in strangulating pain again.

"Let her go, Yuka!" Kagami yelled. "You promised me you wouldn't hurt her!"

Miyakawa smiled and opened her mouth, allowing a disturbing fork-like tongue resembling a snake's to slither out and it kept coming towards Kagami. She giggled and said, "Slip me some tongue, Kagami!"

Miyakawa sent her lengthy snake-like tongue forward and it kept coming and coming and it began to wrap around Kagami's entire body, making her cry and the fork front of the tongue dug itself into Kagami's mouth. Kagami squealed and allowed more tears to fall from her eyes until Miyakawa retracted her long snake tongue back into her mouth and raised her scythe upward with the blade ready to come down on Tsukasa's neck.

"I don't want _anyone_ to come between us, Kagami! I'm the only one who truly loves you!" Miyakawa exclaimed. "Now let me get rid of this little cunt and then we can be together forever in Hell!"

The blade plummeted downward and Kagami threw her face into the burning ground when she heard the sound of human skin being sliced open, followed up by a human head falling from the neck and rolling on the ground. Kagami threw herself up and screamed _NO_ as loud and as violently as she could as more walls of fire crashed upon her, as well as the haunting laugh of Yuka Miyakawa.

(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(- )-(-)

Kagami Hiiragi screamed loudly and she awoke with a start. She rocketed upward and sat in Miyakawa's bed covered in sweat and was panting out of sheer panic. The distraught Hiiragi looked around anxiously and it took a few seconds for her to realize that she was in Miyakawa's room because her settings at first glance made her believe she hadn't awoken from her nightmare. When the familiar setup clicked in her mind, Kagami's panting eased but she still trembled and leaked sweat everywhere.

"What a nightmare…" she whispered to herself. "That…that was horrible…"

Kagami glanced at the clock sitting on the nightstand and it read nine o'clock in the morning and she pulled herself out of bed. A fresh wave of pain erupted throughout Kagami's lower half when she shifted in the bed, making her yelp and reach for the sore spot and the memories of what happened suddenly returned. She couldn't help but let a fresh tear slip from her eye knowing that that happened to her but was at least thankful she didn't have a nightmare about that. Still the images of what happened to her family burned in her mind and it kept her heart beating at a hastened pace.

She did her best to shake it off while repeating it was only a dream in her mind over and over again. Kagami pulled herself out of the bed and took her nightgown off to get dressed. When her dark ensemble was attached to her body, she slowly opened Miyakawa's bedroom door and was immediately blasted by a strange smell. She could hear Miyakawa cooking in the kitchen down the hallway but it was an odor that Kagami couldn't recognize. All she knew was that it was some kind of meat being cooked in a skillet. The only thing she could connect the smell with was beef of some kind but it wasn't any that she could identify.

Regardless, Kagami slowly walked out of the bedroom and down the hall to the kitchen where she saw Miyakawa sitting at her table and eating what appeared to be a small cooked steak while several other ones sat on another plate. When Miyakawa slipped another forkful of the meat into her mouth and she chewed, Kagami's presence caught her attention. She chewed with a smile, as if she was showing some sort of pride over the food.

When Miyakawa swallowed it, she said, "Morning, sunshine. How about some breakfast?"

Kagami sniffed the meat on the plate again. "It does smell good. What is it, Yuka?"

Miyakawa giggled. "Oh it's just a little bit of this and a little bit of that. It's mostly scrap meat that I threw together to make a breakfast steak. Have a seat."

Kagami shrugged and sat down in front of Miyakawa while also giving her a peculiar look. She had a feeling that she saw Miyakawa in her dream but couldn't put her face to any figure. Either way, she had to admit she was hungry and Miyakawa slid a plate with one of the streaks on it and Kagami began to eat it. She chewed it a few times and looked at Miyakawa.

"It's not bad actually." Kagami said as she took more bites.

Miyakawa giggled again. "I'm glad you like it, dear."

_You should like it…because I'm feeding you the guy who fucked your ass._

"Where's Ryuji?" Kagami asked, snapping Miyakawa out of her internal thoughts.

"He's off pushing our homemade meth on the streets." She replied and grinned. "So what are we doing tonight? Are you ready to tease, please, and squeeze more peas tonight?"

Kagami looked away. "No. I don't want what happened to me the other night to happen again."

"You know you could just take a weapon with you. I've got a few switchblades and knives you could look through until you find one you like." Miyakawa replied.

Kagami shook her head. "I couldn't do that. I could never pull a weapon out on anybody let alone use it no matter what they did to me. I couldn't live with murder on my conscience."

"Even if they tried to kill you and rob you or just fuck you without paying?" Miyakawa asked with a sinister voice, catching Kagami off guard. "You need a reality check, Kagami. What happened to you with that guy _will_ happen again unless you defend yourself. I'm trying to help you so quit being a little bitch about it."

Kagami glared at Miyakawa. She didn't appreciate being talked to like that, especially after she was the victim of a horrible and traumatic incident that caused her so much pain. The distress of being raped that way made Kagami sick inside and her frustration with Miyakawa prompted her to excuse herself harshly from the table.

"I'm out of here." Kagami snapped and started walking towards the front door.

"Kagami." Miyakawa called to her, making Kagami stop and look at her who suddenly formed a conniving grin and added, "What you experienced last night was just a dream, Kagami. It was only a dream. None of that really happened…"

Kagami gave another confused look at Miyakawa, who somehow seemed to know about the repugnant nightmare she had. Kagami quickly exited the apartment and began walking down the street.

Miyakawa giggled to herself and stared at her plate. "None of that really happened…yet."

Kagami couldn't make a quarter mile down the road until she had no choice but to slink away into an alleyway and dig into her pockets. Her body on the verge of rejecting the food she had consumed, Kagami quickly took out a crack pipe from her pocket that was ready to go and she lit it up. She took in the toxic smoke like it was water after spending a long time in a baking desert, only illustrating how truly addicted she was to the drugs. The drugs took her clarity away and she wasn't able to acknowledge the fact that she was sitting next to a rotten garbage can in a dark, dreary alleyway smoking crack. Countless more people walked past her as she smoked the drug.

Most of them didn't even acknowledge her existence while the ones who did only gave her a quick glance before they marched onward. To them, Kagami was just another junkie and prostitute living in the streets of the Aku District, which wasn't news to many people. Sadly, it was just another day in their world to see a young girl Kagami's age sitting in filth while destroying every aspect of her being with drugs and prostitution. Kagami's tragic tale of how she ended up in this situation wouldn't faze them even if they heard it because it too was nothing they haven't heard before. Everyone had a story of demise and angst within the Aku District so to them, what would make Kagami any different or any better?

In the midst of her high, Kagami lost her ability to read time so it didn't upset her when three hours had passed and she still sat in the alleyway smoking crack and even popped a few pills she found either in her jacket pocket or several in an unlabeled prescription bottle near the garbage can. She didn't care what was going into her body, just as long as it would take away all the physical and mental pain that tortured her on a daily basis. The twin-tailed girl could still see her sister hanging from that twisted tree in her nightmare, as well as hearing the petrified screams of her parents before they were dropped in the oil. Worst of all, she could still see Tsukasa being treated like someone's pet and it made her sick to her stomach to see her in chains like a slave.

Eventually, Kagami's hunger returned a little past noon and she once again began walking the streets. Though she wasn't who she used to be after Matsuri's death, she still couldn't deny the fact that she always had a relentless sweet tooth. It was an unusual scene for someone with an exterior like Kagami's dark wardrobe and appearance to arrive at an ice-cream parlor but she didn't care about all the stares she was getting.

"Could I get a hot fudge sundae with all the toppings, please?" Kagami asked the stunned employee.

"Make that two." A voice said from behind Kagami.

_That voice…it couldn't be…_

Kagami quickly turned and felt a tidal wave of mixed emotions when she looked into the vibrant yet saddened pools of green in Konata Izumi's eyes. Her best friend was standing behind her with a look that showed both happiness and disappointment and she could tell that Konata had a lot on her mind. Her stare said it all as Konata stepped forward to the confused employee and stood next to Kagami.

"Like I said, make it two…and put them both on one check." Konata requested and the employee left to process their order while the blue-haired girl looked through her wallet and pulled out the necessary amount of money to pay for the treats.

Kagami slowly looked away from Konata and whispered, "You didn't have to do that, you know."

Konata nodded. "I know. I just figured I would because I believe that this is the first decent thing you've eaten in awhile. You're starting to look a little skinny, Kagamin."

The twin-tailed girl gulped and replied softly. "It…it's nothing. It's just that the heroin and crack takes away all my appetite. Sometimes I can go two whole days without feeling hungry."

"I don't think that's anything to brag about." Konata replied. "Either way, I wanted to buy this for you because I want to talk."

Kagami rolled her eyes and reared her attitude. "Christ…I can only imagine what the fuck this is going to be about."

"It's about Tsukasa." Konata quickly replied.

The seared image of Tsukasa being treated like a slave in her dream suddenly returned and Kagami quickly turned her head to Konata. "Tsukasa? Is she okay? Is she hurt?"

The employee abruptly returned with their sundaes and Konata paid for them. The two girls kept a low profile and even Kagami was smart enough by this point to not make a scene and attract any unwanted attention. She knew she was breaking the law with her activities and didn't want to get caught over something as pathetic as throwing a tantrum in an ice-cream parlor. They took their ice-cream over to a secluded table in the corner of the parlor and Konata addressed Kagami's concern.

"Physically…Tsukasa is fine. Mentally however she's a mess." Konata replied and slid the first spoonful in her mouth and added. "You know I can't go one whole visit without her breaking down into tears? All she asks about is you. Whether if I've seen you or if I've heard from you at all and it upsets me every time I was forced to say no."

Kagami paused while looking at her sundae and replied, "How did you find me, Konata?"

Konata sighed internally at her already growing frustration over Kagami disregarding her sister but answered anyway. "I heard about all the things you've been doing with your body and my mind could only come to one district as sick and deranged as those things you're doing. I've been looking for you since five this morning and you know how much I hate getting up that early. That means I also had to sacrifice a night of gaming but for you…it was worth it. Even though I found you like this."

Kagami lowered her head further, almost as a subliminal attempt at bowing in shame. "You shouldn't have come here, Konata. You better leave while you still can."

Konata tilted her head and squeezed her facial muscles to form a glare. "Is that a threat?"

Kagami slowly shook her head. "No…it's a promise. If you stay here…you'll regret it. This is my home now and I can't go back to my family."

"Why?"

"Because what they'll demand of me are requests that I'll never be able to meet. Let me guess; you're here to try and convince me to go back and get clean, maybe even see that family therapist Tsukasa was rambling about last time I saw her." Kagami snorted and her ice-cream sundae began melting around the glass bowl. "Do you know what it's like to be high on drugs, Konata?"

Konata shook her head.

"Then you couldn't even begin to imagine what kind of fucking hell it is to _not_ be high." Kagami retorted. "Those drugs…they're nothing short of a miracle. All those things I said and did that became the deaths of Matsuri and Kusakabe suddenly disappear and it's like it never happened. But if I go back, I'll have to go through some kind of treatment where I'll have to face what I did and go through rehab and withdrawal."

"And you're scared of the mental and physical pain you'll endure in rehab and recovery?" Konata asked.

Kagami nodded. "I've gone through minor withdrawal sessions before and I can't even describe how terrible they are. They're so terrible that I'm willing to do anything to keep them away. Even sleep with some of the most vile and disgusting of animals claiming to be humans if it means I can secure enough money to stay high."

Konata slowly shook her head.

"I don't give a shit about what you think about me, Konata." Kagami snapped. "You don't know what it's like to feel what I'm feeling and to know that you're trapped and those drugs are my only keys to peace."

The blue-haired girl sighed. "You're right about everything, Kagami. I don't understand what it's like to lose a sister or a friend in the manners that you have. It was so unfair and you didn't deserve it. However, I do know what it's like to have a friend who can't sleep at night and who can't stop crying because she loves and misses her sister so much that every day is an uphill battle just for her to get out of bed in the morning. I know what that's like because that friend of mine is also your little sister. And I also didn't come here to try and talk you into going to rehab. I'm here because you're right about another thing; Tsukasa wants you to see that family therapist, if not for one session and afterword, you can walk away with no more questions asked."

"Forget it." Kagami quickly retorted. "I'm not going to some pathetic dime-store shrink."

Konata narrowed her stare. "Then how about we make a deal? One that doesn't end with you either shooting something into your veins or even lying on your back and spreading your legs for once."

Kagami shot a sinisterly evil glare of pure anger at Konata but allowed her to continue.

"One session. I won't even tell your family you're going. One session with Dr. Kishimoto. I have her card with me now and Tsukasa already gave me permission to give you this deal." Konata reached into her jacket pocket and dropped the therapist's card on the table in front of the leering Kagami. "It'll just be you and this doc together for one hour and after that, you're free to walk out her door and you'll never have to see her or your family or even me ever again if that's what you want. Tell me Kagami…what's the harm in simply going and having a conversation with someone who is legally obligated not to judge you?"

The twin-tailed girl looked away and sneered. "I'm out of here. Thanks for the sundae, Konata."

Kagami stood and began to walk out of the parlor, having never once touched her dessert that Konata bought for her but that didn't stop the blue-haired girl. She stood, took the business card, and dashed after Kagami. The twin-tailed girl started to walk fast but Konata stayed right on her heels.

"Look Kagami, no matter what you think I still consider you not only my friend but also my best friend." Konata said to Kagami's back as she held Dr. Kishimoto's card in her hand and readied to execute a sneaky maneuver. Konata caught up to Kagami and the two walked side-by-side. "I'm still going to go back to Tsukasa and tell her that I found you and that you're in good health but that'll do little to ease all her fears over your safety. Would you do me a favor and at least think about that one session?"

"I said no!" Kagami yelled at her but Konata took the opportunity and quickly slid the card into Kagami's back pocket and she didn't notice as she continued her angry rant. "I'm not going to any fucking shrink's office so drop it already! You don't understand me and neither does my family or some damn bookworm! Now get out of here, Konata!"

Konata stopped walking and watched Kagami keep moving down the streets with venomous spite in every step. She sighed to herself while shaking her head and knew that she had to leave the Aku District as soon as possible. She didn't want to keep breathing in the toxic fumes of the sector's decay but at least she was able to deliver the card to Kagami. Konata's hope was that Kagami would discover it later when she wasn't so angry and maybe even consider it. Of course, there was a possibility that Kagami would also only consider it after yet another traumatic event, which was what Konata feared. With each perverted encounter Kagami made for herself, she was getting closer and closer to her last one ever.

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Later that night, Kagami rested on her back and her conversation with Konata replayed in her mind. What she remembered the most was when Konata referred to her deal to see Dr. Kishimoto and it not involving her either getting high or lying on her back with her legs spread. She remembered this because she felt another customer thrust in and out her over again as she laid on her back on the backseat of his Mercedes Benz sedan.

As her third customer of the night continued to do his work on her, Kagami stared into space while trying to ignore the animalistic sounds he was making as he was almost finished. In retrospect it did sound like a pretty good deal but Kagami was just rejecting it out of anger. Kagami would be able to talk to the therapist with zero strings attached and once it was over, she would never have to see her again. At least it would help ease her returning guilt about making Tsukasa worry about her so much, as well as the rest of her family.

Kagami had to admit to herself that with each passing day, she was still missing her family more and more despite what the drugs were able to do. It was driving a mental wedge between them, sure, but they still loved each other and Kagami was still the daughter of Miki and Tadao Hiiragi, as well as the sister of Inori and Tsukasa Hiiragi. Maybe this one simple session would do some good. Maybe it would bring some closure to their demons but the only thing Kagami was still concerned about was the future.

Sure, the session would remain confidential and her family would never have to know that she was there, but Kagami feared that a deal that simple was coated with hidden probabilities down the road. Even though she was now part of the streets, she was still smart enough to know that the only way she could ever get out was through rehab and proper treatment with doctors, but she still didn't want to go through that ordeal. It would be long, hard, and drastically painful, maybe even more painful than the initial anguish she felt when she lost Matsuri and Misao. But still…she did miss Tsukasa.

The man on top of her grunted and howled and was finally finished with her. He rested his body on top of Kagami and breathed hard and the twin-tailed girl rolled her eyes. As the man slowly pulled himself up while panting, he released an exhausted chuckle and said, "Thanks, baby, that was awesome."

"At least one of us enjoyed it. That'll be twenty five thousand yen." Kagami hissed and was anxious for him to get off her.

The man got off Kagami and allowed her to sit up with a frowning face as she reached into her skirt pocket and retrieved her crumbled panties. She slipped them over her legs again and pulled them tight and a large bundle of cash was dropped onto Kagami's lap. She quickly collected the money and stashed it in her boot, a lesson she learned the hard way of where to keep a prostitute's income.

Kagami opened the door and stepped out, thinking she was in the clear once again. She brushed off her clothes and as she was about to walk the streets again, the man in the luxurious car honked his horn at Kagami, telling her to come back as he sat in the driver's seat. Kagami groaned and walked back to him.

"You ready for another round already?" She asked with an annoyed grunt.

To her surprise, the man started laughing. It wasn't a chuckle over what they did in the back of his car, but rather a deep and satisfied laugh over something else he did. The laughing was creepy enough to worry Kagami.

"What the hell is so funny?" She barked.

"Oh, nothing. I just thought you would want this back." The man said and lifted his hand up and to Kagami's horror, he was holding the condom she gave him to wear and it hadn't even been opened.

Kagami's face melted to form a combined look of anger and anguish. "You fucking asshole! You said you put it on! The whole time you were…?! Did you…did you…inside me?!"

"Enjoy motherhood you dirty skank! Consider that my only child support payment!" He laughed again and flicked the condom at her, striking her face with it and Kagami flinched as he put his car into drive and sped away, laughing as he went.

Kagami was left alone in the alleyway with nothing but her boiling anger as her only company. She gritted her teeth and screamed with all her might, picked up the condom, and threw it towards the shrinking car in the distance and yelled, "Fucker!"

Her knees knocked together and Kagami's anger was suddenly replaced with unrelenting sorrow and tears flooded her eyes. She fell to the concrete, covered her face, and began crying loudly over what had just happened. Now she truly feared what the future had in store for her as she sat down in the alley and kept crying. She tried to convince herself that she knew her menstrual cycle by heart and that this wasn't going to be a problem. It still didn't take away from the fact that Kagami felt that she had been violated yet again.

As Kagami shifted her buttocks on the cement, she suddenly felt something. She felt a foreign piece of paper in her back pocket and she reached into it and grasped a card. Upon inspecting it under a streetlamp, she identified it as Dr. Kishimoto's business card. Feeling alone and defeated once again because of the unimaginable cruelty of the streets, Kagami gripped the card tightly in her hand and buried her face in her knee caps as she sat beneath the streetlamp.

As she wept after yet another violation on her body, she whispered, "Okay…okay…I'll do it. I'll make the appointment…"


	24. Chapter 24

CHAPTER 23

Kagami lost an entire night of sleep after realizing that she inadvertently had unprotected sex with a customer, though it wasn't her idea. All she could worry about was the very idea of being impregnated under such boorish and unacceptable circumstances. If that was to be her fate, she would definitely have given her family the final reason for her to never be able to return home. Kagami didn't even have enough strength left to keep working the streets that night and took refuge in another box in an alleyway while fighting off rabid stray cats and dogs looking for food. She couldn't go back to Miyakawa's apartment since she was never given an extra key to it and Miyakawa herself was out all night, as was Ryuji pushing the drugs.

Watching the sunrise was a dearly missed sight for Kagami when she scooted out of her box in the alley and watched the burning orb lift into the blue sky. She wasted no time. Kagami rushed to the first hotel she could find and found the pay phones, inserted the loose change she had, and dialed the number on the card. Kagami was expecting her first available session to be several weeks or even months down the road but when she mentioned her name to the secretary, it caught her off guard to hear that Dr. Kishimoto was expecting her call. What added to the surprise was that Dr. Kishimoto wanted to see her right away and would see her at noon that same day over her lunch hour. Apparently Kagami's family had been telling the therapist a lot, otherwise why would Dr. Kishimoto be so willing to bend over backwards to squeeze her into her schedule?

When the appointment was set for noon later that day, Kagami returned to the streets, only to remember that she had nowhere to go. The sun was once again in control of the sky, thus forcing all the animals back into their caves until the darkness of night would eventually return, their only ticket to sanctity and wickedness. Kagami did her best to keep the frightening incident of the previous night out of her head as she walked and looked for the first available restaurant to eat in. At only eighteen years old with no job, no real income, barely any savings, and a questionable future in the academic world, Kagami was smart enough to know she wasn't ready to become a mother, especially to a child that was forced upon her in her sordid lifestyle.

However, she also forgot to take another thing into consideration. The drugs that were already coursing throughout her system. Ever since Matsuri's and Misao's deaths, Kagami had more drugs in her system than the average local pharmacy. Even though she wasn't high at the current moment and after breakfast planned on fixing that, the drugs in her bloodstream were still attaching their harmful effects to her cells and a baby needs healthy bodily cells from the mother in order to grow and survive. Right now, Kagami was sick both mentally and especially physically but as always, the highs the drugs gave her were there to swoop in and obscure this fact from her cognitive comprehension.

She didn't know it, but Kagami was also in trouble with her weight and for once, it was a problem she sort of wished she had. She was losing weight, but not at the rate or through the circumstances that were considered healthy. The drugs numbed her appetite as she told Konata the previous day and it was beginning to come to a point where her ribs were beginning to constrict against her flesh. Both the little bodily fat she used to have was gone and her muscles were also beginning to atrophy as a result of her growing malnutrition. Kagami was on the verge of developing an eating disorder, yet another thing she couldn't afford to have if she was indeed going to be with child.

Kagami only picked at some scraps every now and then because despite the drugs making her feel invincible, she still felt self-conscious about her weight and liked it whenever she wasn't feeling hungry. The drugs however were obliterating her natural bodily mechanics and even if she went more than a day without eating anything solid, she wouldn't feel her stomach rumbling or hear it growling. She would only pick at a few things because she knew she needed to but it still wasn't enough to maintain a healthy weight.

When Kagami stopped at a small restaurant serving breakfast, all she got was a cup of coffee and a small fruit bowl, which would be the last thing she would eat all day. After she was done eating and left the restaurant, she secluded herself in another moldy and dreary alleyway to shoot the last of her heroin. This time however was going to be different as a result of the stress she was feeling, the growing malnutrition, and her overall decaying health.

As Kagami tied a tourniquet around her arm and popped up the vein, she couldn't stop trembling because of the little food she had in her system that was making her dizzy and lightheaded. She decided to take Miyakawa's earlier advice and start injecting the drug between her toes so she stripped off her boot and sock. Kagami guided the needle in-between her big toe until she hit muscle and she pushed the plunger, thus starting the vicious cycle all over again.

When she felt the effects of the heroin again, Kagami swayed back and forth and couldn't stop giggling with a twisted smirk on her face. Everything in her life was beautiful once again and perfect so she completely forgot about her latest prostitution incident and didn't even care that she had a therapy session later that day. Everything was perfect once again in her eyes. During the heroin's falling action of its effects, Kagami wandered back to Miyakawa's apartment. When she arrived at Miyakawa's apartment door, she tried to open it but discovered it was locked and began knocking on the door.

She heard a rustling inside until the locks on the other side of the door were released and Yuka Miyakawa slowly opened the door slightly to peer out, as if she was expecting someone else. Her eyes scanned the area and when she saw it was Kagami and that she was alone, Miyakawa quickly allowed her to come inside and she abruptly closed and locked the door again. When Kagami saw everything that was happening in the apartment, the rest of the euphoria the heroin gave her was cast away and she wanted to scream yet again.

Ryuji was stretched out on Miyakawa's couch and his clothes were stained in blood. His right arm was wrapped in bandages and in a sling as he rested there with an IV needle jammed in his other arm administering pain killers. He appeared to be asleep but obviously something had happened the previous night and Miyakawa returned to her cousin's side, her hands covered by latex gloves also coated in his blood and kneeled down next to the medical supplies scattered all over the floor.

"Yuka…what the hell happened here?!" Kagami exclaimed.

Miyakawa immediately turned and shushed her angrily before replying. "He was shot last night by those fucking gangbangers. He took two rounds in his right arm and shoulder and one in his right side so we should count ourselves lucky. Poor bastard limped all the way back here and collapsed outside and I found him only an hour ago."

Kagami gulped and shivered as her whole definition of the word violence just became a little clearer and closer. Ever since she allowed Yuka Miyakawa and Ryuji Katsumoto to take over her existence, she always heard about this rival drug gang across town that they always had a fragile relationship with once but now it seemed that all the bubbling tensions finally came to a breaking point. Kagami was beginning to fear that her hallucinations of Matsuri and Misao telling her that she was in for a devastating future had truth to it. Misao warned her not to get into the car with the heavyset man and when she ignored that warning, Kagami was sodomized and robbed by him. Now there were elements of gun and gang violence being mixed into her life.

"Yuka…am I in danger here? Should I be worried?" Kagami asked weakly and stared at Ryuji's sleeping body with trembling fear.

Miyakawa turned back to her and presented a soothing smile for her and shook her head. "No, Kagami, you're not in danger and you shouldn't be worried at all. I know this looks scary but I promise you that you're safe with us and I won't let anything happen to you. This was just a bizarre occurrence and I promise you I'll take care of it."

Kagami nodded slightly as Ryuji began to stir. He started groaning in pain as the drugs he was administered weren't as powerful as the hard stuff but Miyakawa couldn't give him any of that. His body was recovering from serious physical injuries and hard drugs like heroin would only do more damage to his body that was trying to heal itself. He was on a less powerful brand of morphine that Miyakawa cooked herself but still couldn't be compared to the real stuff.

"What…the…fuck…?" Ryuji gargled as he tried to figure out where he was.

"You must be still, Ryuji." Miyakawa replied. "Those assholes across town did a real number on you but you're still with us. We'll get them back though; we'll fuck them up just for you."

"They…they got the…meth." Ryuji wheezed. "Tried to sell it to a guy on the street. It…it was an ambush. I had to…ditch the meth to escape."

Miyakawa shook her head. "Forget about it. Just lay back and relax, dear cousin."

Kagami stepped forward, still nervous and shaking from looking at the injuries. "Is…is there anything I can get for you, Ryuji?"

"Water would be nice." He whispered back.

Kagami nodded and swept into the kitchen to fetch a glass of water and Miyakawa took the opportunity to bring Ryuji up to speed on something. She lowered her lips to his ear and whispered, "Ryuji…I finished it…and it works."

Ryuji shifted his head to his cousin and raised his eyebrows weakly. "The…the drug you were gonna test on Hiiragi? It works?"

Miyakawa nodded as she looked back to see Kagami still filling the glass and she turned back to him. "I was so sure this batch was going to kill her…but it works."

Ryuji huffed with a feeble smile. "Congratulations."

Miyakawa smiled back at him as Kagami returned with a glass of water and even helped Ryuji drink it despite the conversation he just had with his cousin. Yuka Miyakawa was not only known for her legendary promiscuity, but also for her homemade drug culinary skills. She was always experimenting with different narcotics, hallucinogens, opioids, you name it; all in the never-ending quest to find a drug that would be the biggest moneymaker. For Miyakawa, she always aimed for the stars.

Recently, she had been experimenting with a drug that packed such a powerful punch, it had the liability of killing the average person after a single hit. It would send the brain into hyper drive and the user would feel unprecedented rage while losing the ability to feel pain, as well as losing any emotional connections with other humans. Long story short, it would turn anyone addicted to it into a remorseless and raging animal. Miyakawa injected a bit into Kagami while she slept after she treated her for her injury to her buttocks after she was raped and robbed. Miyakawa knew it worked because a side effect of the drug was nightmares and when she heard Kagami scream herself awake the previous morning, she knew her experiment worked. She not only turned Kagami's body into a profitable sex toy, she also turned it into her own personal chemistry set. Of course, Kagami didn't know any of this because as powerful as the drug was, it would wear off the fastest. The drug itself was a black powder that resembled black tar heroin but of course it made heroin look like sugar when comparing its high effects.

When Ryuji finished drinking the water, Kagami backed away and turned to Miyakawa. "I…I need to meet someone at noon today."

Miyakawa turned to her. "Really? Who?"

Kagami wanted to keep this therapy session in the dark as much as possible. "Oh it's just a friend who keeps trying to pry into my life. But don't worry I'll get rid of her today."

Miyakawa shrugged. "Sounds good to me. Remember…if she says she loves you…it's a lie. Only I love you."

Kagami slowly looked away and lowered her head and softly replied, "Yeah…"

Kagami stuck around Ryuji for awhile longer to make sure he was okay but as soon as all he began to feel better, the twin-tailed girl excused herself to go take a shower and get ready for her appointment later that day. Miyakawa didn't know where Kagami was going but as always she didn't care. If anything, Kagami was now more expendable to her than ever before. The twin-tailed Hiiragi raked in the cash and now proved to be a successful test subject for her drug so it didn't matter what Kagami did. Still, Miyakawa had a devious plan in mind for Tsukasa that involved the drug.

As the two cousins heard the running water in Miyakawa's bathroom, Ryuji grabbed her attention as Miyakawa sat next to him on the couch and he said, "So it really works?"

"Well…I'm pretty sure it gave her one fucked up nightmare because I could hear it in her screams." Miyakawa added. "I injected it into her while she slept so as far as the rage is concerned I won't know again until she has an event that causes a trigger. If the event is traumatic or dramatic enough, it'll turn her into a screaming, bloodthirsty, homicidal maniac. If Kagami was ever violent with her family or anybody else before…just wait until she gets more of this shit into her system."

Ryuji coughed. "Will she be as psychotic as you are?"

Miyakawa formed a small grin and chuckled. "I don't think the student will ever surpass the master. But still…it would be nice for Kagami to be just like me. We could be sisters."

"You already have a sister, Yuka." Ryuji said.

Miyakawa froze for several seconds until she suddenly ripped her infamous serpent dagger out, held Ryuji down, and put the blade to his throat as she growled and reared a face ready to kill. Miyakawa panted with infinite anger and hissed, "That worthless cunt is _not_ my fucking sister you scrawny little scrotum! You hear me?! If you refer to that bitch as my sister again…I'm gonna forget you're my cousin and I'll wear you like a fucking coat! Understand?!"

Ryuji all the while seemed unfazed by his cousin's sudden explosion of anger and simply rolled his eyes. "What happened to you was sixteen years ago, Yuka. I know it fucked you up something fierce but what's done is done. I'll admit your sister fucked you over…and especially my dad."

Miyakawa tightened her grip on her weapon and pressed the blade harder against his neck and it started to part his skin and the girl looked as if she was ready to slice his throat at any second. A truly dark and disturbing memory was poking at Yuka Miyakawa that was responsible for why she was the way she was today.

"You know you never told me…why didn't you ever kill me when my dad did what he did and he was put away for it? In your mind I thought that gutting me like a trout would be the ultimate revenge for what he did to you." Ryuji replied calmly.

Miyakawa took a few deep breaths and pulled the dagger away. She sheathed it again and turned. "Let's just say you've proved yourself useful ever since we got into this business. I just keep you around because you're good at business."

Ryuji sighed and decided to change the subject. "So what are you going to call your new drug?"

Miyakawa welcomed the fresh breath of dialogue and reached into her skirt pocket and pulled out a small baggie full of the black powder and smiled at it. "I'll call it…Satan's Blood."

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In the midst of the morning activity, Tsukasa Hiiragi was on a quest. She was once again up early and after finishing her breakfast she confined herself to the living room where several family photo albums were sitting on bookshelves. Tsukasa paged through each one and was selecting old memories to be used during Kagami's intervention in the hopes that her sister would only be surrounded by the good times. Tsukasa was also one of the first ones to complete her intervention letter to Kagami, only illustrating the depth of her dedication to her.

Of course, Tsukasa also required a box of tissues by her side for this mission, especially when she would see all the images of a Kagami from a not too distant past where she graced the world with her smile. So many memories frozen in the pixels showed how much the Hiiragi twins truly loved each other and they never knew a single sad day in their lives as long as they were together. Tsukasa dabbed her eyes with one of the soft tissues as she came across the last picture ever taken of her and Kagami together. It was of them in their graduation gowns with mortar boards on their heads and diplomas in hand in front of Ryoo High School as the cherry blossom petals fell around them.

Miki abruptly came in after finishing the dishes from breakfast and felt her heart constrict already so early in the morning when she saw Tsukasa sitting on the floor with five different family photo albums open and scattered around her. One series of pictures that caught Miki's attention was when the family went to the amusement park one day when the twins were much younger. One of the pictures showed Kagami and Tsukasa inline for a rollercoaster. Kagami looked enthusiastic about it but Tsukasa was clinging to Kagami's arm in fear. The very next photo however was taken after the rollercoaster ride and the roles had switched with the twins back inline and Tsukasa was begging to go on it again.

Miki bent to her knees and placed her hand on Tsukasa's head. "You know how proud you make me, right Tsukasa?"

Tsukasa slowly turned and looked at her mother with puffy eyes and nodded. "I do…but sometimes I wish I could be more proud of myself. I think I failed Kagami as a sister."

The Hiiragi housewife felt her heart clench again. "Why would you say that, Tsukasa? Out of all of us, I think you have more of a right to not want to help Kagami the most. She broke promises to you, she hit you and assaulted you twice, she even used your own love against you so she could do drugs and prostitute herself in our home. Why do you feel that you're the one who has failed her? The way I see it, it's the other way around. Kagami is the one who has failed you."

Tsukasa shook her head. "Kagami is my fraternal twin sister, my best friend. I gave everything I had to make sure that she was never upset and that she only knew happiness. Yet ever since that party…all she's ever known is sadness and devastation. I tried to be there for her…but all my best efforts were in vain. I couldn't make Kagami smile again; it was the drugs that made her smile again. Mom…it hurts so much to know that I was so easily replaced with whatever is in that syringe or in that glass pipe. Am I _that_ easily replaceable…and with drugs of all things?"

The youngest Hiiragi twin began crying again with the open photo albums all around her and Miki hugged Tsukasa closely. She kissed her youngest daughter on the top of her head as Inori and Tadao also entered the living room to the emotional scene. The family did their best to reassure Tsukasa that Kagami's choices weren't her fault but it was a much harder challenge than one would think. The twins spent literally their entire lives together and even though they were fraternal, they might as well have been identical.

Each twin played a part for the other whether they knew it or not and for Tsukasa to feel that her entire existence in Kagami's life was expendable and easily replaced with drugs of all things only drove a knife deeper and deeper into her heart. Tsukasa was the purest and most loving one of the Hiiragi daughters and it was true when she told Kagami during one of their last encounters that she didn't know how to not trust Kagami. All she was capable of was trust and love so she was basically being forced to go against her natural instincts, something that obviously turned her into a weeping mess.

For the next hour, Tsukasa continued to page through all the different albums and search for the right photos that would make the biggest impacts on Kagami. Tsukasa was in a sense creating a timeline of Kagami's life for the purpose of the intervention that Konata was still planning and collaborating with the rest of their group on. Tsukasa did however take reassurance when Konata texted her the previous day and told her that she found Kagami and that she was in good health and that she was able to deliver Dr. Kishimoto's business card to her. Tsukasa unfortunately knew that there was no guarantee that Kagami would take the appointment so she was left with praying once again as her only tool.

When Tsukasa found enough pictures she wanted to use in the intervention, she retreated back to her room and couldn't help but sit on her bed and hug one of her stuffed animals lining her bed. The stuffed animal she hugged to her chest and face was a dolphin and Tsukasa took comfort in the plushy contact. She inadvertently sniffed and it was a gesture she would soon regret. A foreign substance snuck its way from the plush into Tsukasa's nose and it hit her like a ton of bricks.

Tsukasa quickly looked up and saw her vision become blurry, along with colorful dots popping all around her and she suddenly felt sick. She dropped the stuffed dolphin, making the animal's back zipper open slightly and Tsukasa knew something was wrong with her. Feeling woozy and nauseas, Tsukasa stumbled to her door and called for help through her groggy voice and Miki, Tadao, and Inori rushed up the stairs to find Tsukasa on the floor twitching violently.

Miki immediately began to panic as she held her daughter in her arms while Inori called an ambulance with her cell phone. Seeing that Tsukasa was still conscious but very weak and sick, Tadao swept into Tsukasa's room to find the cause of his youngest daughter's sudden condition. He found the stuffed dolphin on the floor but saw something else leaking out the side of it from the opened zipper. It was a white powder that kept flowing out at a slow but steady rate.

He picked up the stuffed animal and opened the back of the doll and was horrified at what he found. Tens of small baggies filled with white powder were stuffed inside the dolphin and it was suddenly clear to Tadao that he had discovered another one of Kagami's stashes. One of the baggies had ripped and the powder was seeping through the plushy material and Tsukasa sniffed it. Tadao didn't know it, but his youngest daughter had just gotten her first taste of heroin. What he also didn't know was that there were stashes like this hidden everywhere in his home.

An ambulance soon arrived but when they discovered the cause of Tsukasa's condition, they didn't take her to a hospital. Luckily for Tsukasa, the amount of heroin she accidentally sniffed wasn't enough to give her a complete overdose but the paramedics still had a drug with them that would counteract the heroin's effects. They rested Tsukasa on a gurney in the ambulance and injected her with a pharmaceutical drug called Naloxone, a substance that was designed to block the opioid receptors in the brain and render the heroin powerless and even destroy any potential addiction. The fractured Hiiragi family was overjoyed when they saw the Naloxone's effects start right away and Tsukasa woke up feeling much better.

Regrettably, because of the circumstances surrounding Tsukasa's minor overdose, the police had to be called and they had to dismantle the Hiiragi household to find the rest of Kagami's drug stashes. The family was forced to stand outside while the neighbors and any passing bystanders watched multiple police units disassemble their beloved home and carry out stash after stash. Kagami had hidden the rest of her drugs in some of the worst places imaginable. She hid them in more of Tsukasa's stuffed animals, under another toilet lid, behind dressers, taped underneath dresser drawers, in the tool shed in the backyard, and even under the floorboards within the shrine. To Kagami, nothing was sacred anymore.

To the Hiiragi family, Kagami had truly crossed a line by this point. She used their home, their place of sanctuary not only as a brothel, but also as a cache for drugs and now Tsukasa was drastically affected by it in a very serious way. Miki and Tadao as well as Inori were humiliated once again by Kagami when they were forced to watch all the eyes of the neighbors watch the police turn their beloved home into a crime scene until all the drugs were confiscated. Just as the rest of the family was ready to give up on Kagami for good and call off the intervention, Tsukasa once again was there to keep them on track despite what happened to her. They didn't know whether to be in awe or to be worried about how much Tsukasa was still dedicated to Kagami, even though she was now responsible for her first overdose in addition to all the other traumas Kagami had put her through so far.

Was Tsukasa still following blind love or was she becoming delusional?

(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(- )-(-)

Kagami felt her heart pounding in her chest. Why was she so nervous? All she was doing was sitting in the waiting room of Dr. Kishimoto's office. It wasn't like she was under arrest or going to jail or to rehab. All she was going to do was sit through an hour's session with a therapist and then she would be able to leave with no questions asked. Still, Kagami was still fearful of what this session would bring. She knew that this psychologist would do whatever it took to steer Kagami towards rehab and recovery but at the same time would use her intense grasp of discourse to persuade her.

The phone suddenly rang on the receptionist's desk, making Kagami jump slightly despite the calming noises of the soft music and flowing water of the tranquility fountains. The receptionist picked it up and replied quickly before hanging it up again. She then turned to Kagami.

"Hiiragi? Dr. Kishimoto will see you now." She replied with a smile.

Kagami nodded and walked down the hallway until she found the office with the therapist's name on it and she peered into the open door. She saw the doctor sitting in her big chair with a bento box on her lap and she was finishing the last of her meal. To Kagami's surprise, the bento box was pink and even had a butterfly image on the lid, something she would expect from a younger female student or even Tsukasa but not someone like a well-educated therapist.

Kagami cleared her throat, catching Dr. Kishimoto's attention. She smiled, put the bento box aside, and stood. "Kagami?"

Kagami nodded suspiciously.

Dr. Kishimoto deepened her smile and bowed. "I'm so happy to finally meet you. I've heard so much about you and I must say that I was very excited to receive your call this morning. Please come in and have a seat."

Kagami wasn't expecting such sincere hospitality and she slowly took the invite as Dr. Kishimoto closed the office door to give them privacy. The twin-tailed girl slowly took a seat on the soft couch but hesitated at first as a result of her previous injury by the man who raped and robbed her but she pushed through it and sat down on the cushions as Dr. Kishimoto sat down in her chair.

"So Kagami, what brings you to my office today?" She asked.

Kagami couldn't help but glance around at the office and saw a bunch of knick-knacks on a massive bookcase in addition to hundreds of books on psychology. She turned back to the psychologist and replied, "A friend was pressuring me into a single session with you and then I could go back to living on my own with the drugs. I'm sure you're already up to speed on my status."

Dr. Kishimoto nodded. "I am and you're right. I did desire at least one session with you for a few reasons. My biggest reason is because I've been talking with your family and I've come to the conclusion that they love you to death and they want to help."

Kagami looked away. "They can't help me. No one can help me. The only thing that gives me the strength to tackle the day is shooting heroin or smoking crack."

The therapist once again nodded. "I understand. Addiction is a very powerful thing, Kagami. Still, I believe that you and I have a lot to talk about."

Kagami still didn't want to dive into her addictions so she desperately searched for a distraction and she soon eyed the picture frames on Dr. Kishimoto's desk. There were four of them together. One was of Dr. Kishimoto in a wedding dress next to a man in a tuxedo that Kagami assumed was their wedding, the next showed her with the same man at a ski resort with the scenic snowcapped mountains in the background, the third was of them together in Hawaii on the beach with the ocean and setting sun in the background. The fourth and final one was of a much younger girl in her teens giving a piggyback ride to an even younger girl through a small stream in the woods who was smiling and laughing happily while waving at the camera. Something about the little girl waving to the camera seemed familiar to Kagami.

"Is that your husband?" Kagami quickly asked.

Dr. Kishimoto was already onto Kagami's smokescreen attempts but nevertheless played along. She smiled and turned her chair to the pictures and picked up the one of her wedding. "Yes. His name is Azuma Kishimoto and he's a pediatrician. We've just recently celebrated our ten year anniversary."

"And who are the kids?" Kagami asked as she pointed to the last picture on the desk.

Dr. Kishimoto quickly gulped and looked back at the picture. "The older girl is me and the little girl is my sister."

"What's her name?"

Dr. Kishimoto turned around and made a smokescreen attempt of her own. "Anyway, how are you feeling today, Kagami?"

Kagami gave her a confused look but soon scorned and sat further back in the couch while crossing her legs and folding her arms. "I'm fine. Do you mind if I light up some damn crack in here?"

Dr. Kishimoto nodded. "Yes actually I would mind I'm sorry. I have a zero tolerance policy when it comes to drugs."

Kagami rolled her eyes. "Whatever. Listen I don't even know why I came here aside from trying to keep my friends and family away from me."

"And why would you want to do something like that, Kagami?"

"Because I'm hurt and I'm dealing with it the best way I know how in addition to being sick of them constantly putting pressure on me to act right otherwise I'll fuck my life up, and because I don't want to keep taking all their bullshit about how I'm either destroying my life or their lives. It's my life, damn it!" Kagami started to become angry while Dr. Kishimoto remained calm in her seat.

"I see. Do you want to talk about all of that?" She replied.

Kagami suddenly clammed up and kept glaring at Dr. Kishimoto. "No. I think I should go."

"But you've only been here for five minutes, Kagami." She retorted. "If you don't want to talk about you we can talk about anything really. It's your hour after all. We could talk about sports, or the weather, or politics if you're interested in that."

Kagami tightened her frown and believed she was being screwed with by the doctor and she stood and said, "Fuck this. I'm out of here."

As Kagami walked towards the door, Dr. Kishimoto added one more potential topic. "Or we could talk about _my_ little sister."

Kagami stopped momentarily and turned to the psychologist. "Why the fuck would I want to talk about your sister?"

Kagami once again turned and placed her hand on the doorknob but stopped when Dr. Kishimoto added more.

"Because I think you know my sister. My sister's name is Yuka Miyakawa."


	25. Chapter 25

CHAPTER 24

Feeling her heart in her throat, Kagami kept her hand latched onto the doorknob of Dr. Kishimoto's office. She felt sweat begin to form across her forehead and she couldn't believe what she just heard. Did Dr. Kishimoto truly identify the street legend that thrived on the blood of others while ushering in new definitions for the word "psychotic" as well as redefining the very concept of perversion that was Yuka Miyakawa as her sister? It couldn't be. Kagami slowly turned her sweating face back to the therapist who still sat complacently in her chair.

"Wh…what…what did you…just…say…?" Kagami stuttered.

"My sister, Yuka Miyakawa. Would you like to talk about her instead of yourself and your issues, Kagami?" Dr. Kishimoto asked in an even calmer demeanor, only furthering Kagami's intimidation.

If Dr. Nagisa Kishimoto truly was the older sister of the depraved, cannibalistic, drug master, stripper, and prostitute Yuka Miyakawa, why was she so calm about it? Kagami began to wonder if this was a setup and if Miyakawa wasn't her sister and that this was just a ploy. In Kagami's mind, there would be no logical possibility that any sibling of Yuka Miyakawa would be as civil, polite, courteous, and even professionally educated at the level that Nagisa Kishimoto was.

"You…you're fucking with me!" Kagami yelled at Dr. Kishimoto, who still remained unfazed by Kagami's emotions. "If you're truly her sister then tell me something about her that only she or I would know!"

"She has a 666 tattoo on her lower back as well as one on her back of a snake coiling around a red rose with the stem turning into a dagger and one of the grim reaper on a throne on her right bicep. She also has piercings in her ears, eyebrows, and navel." Dr. Kishimoto replied.

Kagami felt her heart speed up again and she gulped bluntly. All of those things about her were true and the twin-tailed girl now knew this session was going to change her and her perceptions of Yuka Miyakawa forever. Kagami simply stood before the doctor dumbfounded and unsure what to do now. This was a bombshell for her so all she could do was stand and try to contemplate her next move.

"Please sit down, Kagami. I believe we have a lot to discuss about not only you, but also my sister and your relationship with her. You've done things with her, haven't you? You've done drugs with her and…I'm believe that you had sex with her, haven't you?" Dr. Kishimoto's words remained disturbingly calm despite the graphic but still truthful accusations against Kagami. Kagami feared that this was a tell-all sign that Dr. Kishimoto was truly estranged from her sister if she could speak of such matters so casually.

Regardless, Kagami felt her frozen knees thaw and she began to carry herself back to the couch and she slowly sat down again. She was grateful when it was Dr. Kishimoto who broke the silence for them.

"Now then, I apologize if I frightened you when I made those allegations with you and my sister…but I believe that they are accurate. If they are, I just want you to know that it's not because you are the depraved or corrupted one, Kagami." Dr. Kishimoto said to the stunned girl. "It is my sister who is the depraved and corrupted one in this mess and Kagami, you wouldn't be the first one she ushered into the world you're a part of now."

Kagami tilted her head. "What…what do you mean that I'm…not the first?"

"My sister, in her own way, is a pimp in addition to all the other horrible things she does. She recruits girls who have their own personal issues and brainwashes them." Dr. Kishimoto continued. "She fills them with false promises of protection and even love. She tells all the girls she recruits personally that she not only loves them but that she's also in love with them. It's her sociopathic acting skills that warps and distorts these girls' concepts of love and they truly believe my sister loves them and will protect them as long as they 'work' for her."

Kagami gulped as this was starting to hit close to home and silence was her only retort, prompting Dr. Kishimoto to keep going.

"Kagami…I know that my sister has told you many things that I'm sure you've craved to hear, like that you're beautiful and that people envy your figure, or that she loves you in that intimate way because nobody ever has before…but they're all lies." The therapist informed. "She's lying to you. She doesn't love anybody except herself and the drugs and money. She and my cousin have had you pegged as just another cash cow the moment they laid eyes on you."

"…Ryuji…" Kagami uttered.

Dr. Kishimoto nodded.

Kagami began to tremble. "But…but Yuka…she…she always said she loved me. We…we made love…"

"She used you, Kagami, for her own satisfaction." Dr. Kishimoto countered. "I'm sorry…but that's what she does. She has no remorse or any regard for the welfare and feelings of others especially when it comes to these personal matters."

The twin-tailed girl began to feel intense and burning anger upon hearing these words. She knew that she was being "used" by these men every time she would get in their cars, but she believed she was doing it to help better her and Miyakawa's lives. Kagami never admitted it but she was hoping that these nights prostituting herself would one day lead to a more financially secured life that she would be able to spend with Miyakawa. Now to think that Miyakawa was no better than those men who used and abused her for profit was beginning to break her.

"Yu…Yuka…she…she would never do that to me. Yuka loves me. She loves me." Kagami whispered to herself and trying to stay ignorantly blissful. "Yuka loves me. She told me that and I believe her. I will admit that I've done a lot of perverted things so far…but with her it was always different. It was always special between us."

"If she truly loves you Kagami, then why is she making you do all of these things? I know my husband loves me and he has _never_ made me prostitute myself or got me addicted to drugs." Dr. Kishimoto countered. "I should know…because I was in your spot at one point too, Kagami."

Kagami quickly looked at her. "What are you talking about?"

Dr. Kishimoto began to roll up her sleeve and showed Kagami something that truly hit home for the twin-tailed girl. She gasped and covered her mouth when she saw many collapsed veins on the psychologist's arm, similar to the one Kagami once had. "I was addicted too, once. I became addicted after…the event happened to my sister…that transformed her into what she is today."

"Collapsed veins?" Kagami uttered.

Dr. Kishimoto nodded.

"I had one of those…but it went away. Yuka told me they always go away." Kagami quickly countered.

"Sometimes they do and sometimes they don't." Dr. Kishimoto replied just as quick. "Mine didn't. Mine are a permanent reminder of the true horrors of not only addiction…but also the horrors that cause addiction."

Kagami gulped again and looked back up at the therapist as she recovered her scarred arms. "What happened to Yuka? If that truly is Yuka Miyakawa as a little girl in that picture…something horrible must've happened for her to become who she is now. I know that she has a violent and promiscuous side…but she was always there for me and accepted me…even if you are telling me that it's all lies. Tell me…what happened to her?"

Another long an ominous silence fell upon the office and Kagami and Dr. Kishimoto locked each other into a staring contest. The psychologist knew that Kagami would ask this question and she tried to mentally prepare herself for it but she didn't know if she was ready. Dr. Kishimoto kept telling herself that this was not only for Kagami's sake, but also for her entire family's sake so she took a deep breath.

"Let's establish one thing right now, Kagami. The reason I am going to tell you the story is not for me…but for you and your family. You and I have a very beautiful thing in common; we're both big sisters. Yuka was just like Tsukasa is now. Sweet, pure, innocent, always smiling, always loving." Dr. Kishimoto said sternly. "The reason I'm going to tell you this is because you are on a deadly collision course to an abyss of no return. I see so many parallels between you, me, Yuka, and Tsukasa. If you keep going the way you are…one day you will be the next Yuka Miyakawa and Tsukasa will be in my position. Do you understand?"

Kagami nodded, though it was more to get the therapist to tell the story.

Dr. Kishimoto nodded back and took another deep breath. "Yuka wasn't a planned child of my parents…but we still loved her unconditionally. From her birth, she was always smiling and laughing. She loved literally everything and found no faults in the world she lived in. Everything to her was perfect and beautiful. She couldn't go one whole day without laughing or smiling at something because she loved doing those two things so much. She also loved to sing and dance for everyone and we all loved her dearly and treasured her. I was her hero. I was her big sister so she wanted to be just like me. She followed me everywhere I went and I loved her so much. We were inseparable."

"My relationship with Yuka for those first nine years of her life was perfect. We never fought or even raised our voices to each other over anything. Then…something happened. My uncle, Ryuji's father, and my father were brothers and also best friends like Yuka and I. My uncle bought a cabin in the mountains up north and that place became an expansion of Yuka's innocence. Yuka loved nature and animals so much. She wanted to be a veterinarian when she grew up and would always love to bring home stray cats which drove my parents crazy. That picture you see on my desk was taken at the spot where the cabin was." Dr. Kishimoto paused for several seconds, as if she was trying to muster all the strength she could to vocalize what was about to come next. "For Yuka's ninth birthday, my uncle took her up there for the weekend for a camping trip, which she was overjoyed about. It was a rustic cabin so it had no phones and we couldn't get any cell phone reception up there so it was just the two of them. For nearly forty-eight straight hours…my uncle raped Yuka over and over again."

Kagami gasped loudly and covered her mouth again.

"He said that he would kill me and our parents if she didn't do everything he said. So for nearly two days and two nights, my uncle raped her. No breaks, no mercy, no food, no water, nothing. If it weren't for two passing hikers, it would've kept going on. They were passing by and heard Yuka screaming inside the cabin in unspeakable agony. The cabin was so deep in the woods my uncle decided to let her scream all she wanted but the hikers came running. When they found what he was doing to Yuka…they started crying and vomiting on the spot and subdued my uncle until the authorities arrived. They were never able to get Yuka to stop crying…the best thing they could do for her was stop her bleeding from the lacerations and scars all over her body. Unfortunately by the time the authorities arrived…it was far too late." Dr. Kishimoto choked towards the end and Kagami remained silent with her frozen look of horror. "I won't tell you every single thing my uncle did to Yuka because it's irrelevant. However, she had to spend three weeks in a hospital bed recovering from the physical injuries he inflicted onto her body. She was only nine years old…"

Dr. Kishimoto reached for a box of tissues and dabbed her eyes but kept going.

"Yuka transformed right away. She had nightmares every night of what happened to her and had to be prescribed medication to help her. How do you explain to a nine year old girl that her uncle, a family member, a man who she could trust with her safety, was responsible for hurting her so deeply?" Dr. Kishimoto asked Kagami, who could only reply with a blank stare. "Yuka became very agoraphobic and screamed every time we tried to pick her up to carry her out of her room. She had to be homeschooled for awhile until she had to go back or else she would fall too far behind. I'll never forget one night Yuka screamed herself awake from a nightmare and she cried in my lap all night and towards the end, she looked up at me with her teary eyes and all she could ask was why. Why did her uncle do that to her? Why did it hurt so much? Why was she so scared all the time now? She didn't even know what he was doing to her so do you know how hard it was to try and explain all of that to someone like Yuka?

Kagami glanced away to mask her growing uncomforted feelings amidst this discourse.

"The police ordered the cabin to be destroyed because my uncle had turned it from a family getaway location into a chamber of sexual torture with all the devices they confiscated as evidence to use in the trial. My uncle was charged with over one hundred and twenty different sexual and violent offenses against a child…all of which he was found guilty of and he was sentenced to life in prison without parole. I was there in the courtroom during the whole ordeal from the plea to the verdict. I never witnessed a judge, an entire jury, or even the bailiffs cry all at the same time upon hearing and reading the testimony of what he did to Yuka in that cabin." Dr. Kishimoto kept going. "We thought the drama was over with my uncle's sentencing…but we were terribly wrong. My father blamed Yuka, our mother, and myself for his brother being sentenced to life in prison because of truly disturbing and graphic the weekend her put Yuka through was. Every night he started beating my mother in front of me and Yuka when she was trying to recover from all of this emotional turmoil. Sometimes he would also abuse Yuka. By that point she was already on five different medications to help with depression, sleep disorders, and overall post-traumatic stress disorder. All of that for a nine year old girl…"

Dr. Kishimoto wiped her eyes again and kept talking as Kagami gulped again.

"I started abusing heroin to not only deal with my situation at home…but also to deal with the fact that I let my sister down. Yuka wanted me to come with her for her birthday weekend in the mountains…but I wanted to go to the movies with a boyfriend I had at the time and attend a friend's bachelorette party instead. I convinced myself I let him do all of those horrible things to my little sister. Little did I know that at the time I was turning myself into an even worse sister. I recall a few nights where my dad would start beating our mother relentlessly in the kitchen and I was high. Yuka would come into my room crying and would literally get on her knees and beg me to let her sleep in my bed with me because she was scared our father would come into her room and start hitting her again. His brother, my uncle, raped Yuka and my father blamed me, my mother, and Yuka for it." Dr. Kishimoto paused momentarily to allow herself to vent a small sigh of anger. "I was always too high to reply to Yuka or even give her a hug. She would just stand there tugging on my clothes or my quilt and crying her eyes out until she would either leave broken hearted or crawl under my bed where I would hear her cry all night while she was forced to listen to our father beat our mother. My family broke apart permanently about a year later. A few days before Yuka turned ten, my father finally left my mother, who had already crawled inside a bottle and lived there ever since. So for the next year, Yuka was forced to go to school alone and come home to an empty house where she had a deadbeat alcoholic mother and a junkie sister. She never recovered psychologically from what happened to her at that cabin. She could have…if we were there for her…but we failed her. Yuka finally ran away from home at age eleven."

"Did you ever see her again?" Kagami finally asked.

"Just once three years later. I found her in the Aku District prostituting herself." Dr. Kishimoto gulped. "I watched her get out of some pervert's car counting money and I tried to help her. Three years had passed and I got clean and enrolled in college and I wanted to help Yuka. I begged her to come home and live with me in my apartment so I could take care of her and be the big sister she deserved. She retorted by holding a knife to my throat and promised to kill me if she ever saw me again. I was so shocked to see such a barbaric transformation in a girl who only five years earlier believed in everything from Santa Claus to the Tooth Fairy."

"Is that why you became a psychologist?" Kagami added.

Dr. Kishimoto sighed. "Yes."

"And did you find your answer?"

Dr. Kishimoto gulped again. "I believe so. The Yuka Miyakawa we know today seeks power and control, not just for herself, but over others. When she was raped and also in the manners of which she was raped, all ideas and concepts of her safety and her power were stripped away from her. I believe the way she is now is a result of her never-ending desire to take back control and she believes the only way to do that is to cause endless pain and suffering to everyone she meets because that's how _true_ power was defined _for_ her by our uncle; through pain, suffering, torture, and physical control. Her weekend at that cabin was nothing short of atrocious and at only nine years old, she was introduced to things that a girl her age should've _never_ been introduced to. The very concept of dominate power of another human among everything else. I already know my sister is a prostitute and her promiscuity is her way of 'redoing' that weekend at the cabin. She wants to be in control of her sexual situations, no matter how lewd they may be. She was only nine years old when she was raped so some of the things she's into today don't faze her because she was never exposed to them until that weekend. By this point it's all old news to her and because of that she feels that she has all the power when it comes to her prostituting encounters."

Kagami was silent until she added, "If you know about the prostitution…then you obviously know all about the drugs."

Dr. Kishimoto sighed again. "Yes, though I do not know how far her business reaches. Ever since she ran away and started to learn the ways of the street, violent crime spiked in the Aku District, as well as drug related violence and I always knew it was her. To this day it's still hard for me to accept that my little sister is doing all of this. The little girl that was my sister sixteen years ago, the one who loved to laugh, smile, sing, dance, draw animals for our family's refrigerator, the one who literally only knew how to love…is dead. That little girl died in that cabin and was replaced with what we know today. The Yuka Miyakawa of today was created by a perfect storm of circumstances gone terribly wrong."

The twin-tailed girl shivered upon hearing every single detail of Yuka Miyakawa's childhood. The only things Miyakawa shared with Kagami was the drug, stripping, and prostitution collaborations with her cousin, her boss at Teasers, and the boss's brother who owned the pawn shop that helped finance everything with stolen goods. Never did Kagami ever suspect that Yuka Miyakawa was the victim of unspeakable sexual abuse as a child. Despite what she just heard, Kagami felt betrayed by Miyakawa. Kagami's perspective was still warped because of the drugs and she still saw Miyakawa was an honest lover who was keeping this a secret from her. Now the only thing on Kagami's mind was finding her and comforting her.

"So do you understand why I told you all of this, Kagami?" Dr. Kishimoto asked. "I divulged all this to you because I believe that both you and your sister have the potential to become the latest victims of my sister. I know you probably even feel sorry for her and want to run and comfort her and tell her that you love her…but Kagami…that won't do you any good. You still don't know what my sister is capable of. If you bring this meeting up to her…I fear that she'll try to hurt you."

Kagami snapped her head back at Dr. Kishimoto and glared. "I believe it is _you_ who doesn't know your sister! You don't know what the fuck you're talking about! Yuka loves me and I love her! I was always there for her and she was there for me when my sister and friend died because of me! She accepted me for who I was and what I wanted to do to ease all the pain that haunts me! She never judged me or 'used' me as you put it! It's my family and my so-called friends! They're the enemies! They don't understand me!"

As Kagami vented her bubbling anger, Dr. Kishimoto remained calm in her seat and took in every word and when Kagami paused momentarily to catch her breath, she retorted. "Kagami, please take a deep breath and relax. I understand why you're saying all of this…because I was there too once. What you just said about your friends and family and that my sister is who you need…all of that is the addiction and my sister's and cousin's influence talking, not you."

The panting twin-tailed girl turned away again. "You're full of shit you bitch. You can't help me."

"Maybe you're right. Maybe I can't help you. I'm a psychologist…not God." Dr. Kishimoto replied quickly. "Believe it or not…I didn't expect or even plan on helping you today. To be perfectly honest…I _don't_ have any interest in helping you."

Kagami formed a surprised expression on her face and gulped. Despite all of Kagami's intimidating anger, it didn't faze Dr. Kishimoto once. She couldn't explain it but for some reason she felt subdued and even intrigued by the psychologist's frigid words so she remained silent.

"To still be honest with you, Kagami, I'm more interested in saving and protecting your family from you…especially Tsukasa. The girl Yuka was is the girl Tsukasa is now." Dr. Kishimoto added with growing sternness, a strange twist in her initial feminine and soft voice that reminded Kagami so much of Ayano Minegishi. "When I first met your twin sister, I immediately saw Yuka before she was abused and I want to save your sister from you. It's clear to me that you're choosing addiction over your own family."

"That's not true!" Kagami yelled back.

"Then tell me what it is, Kagami." Dr. Kishimoto calmly replied. "Prove me wrong. Persuade me that you still love your family and that you're willing to do whatever it takes to keep them in your life."

Kagami tightened her frown at Dr. Kishimoto and began to grit her teeth. She stuttered several times in futile attempts to formulate a clear sentence but all attempts ended in failure. Kagami eventually sighed and shrugged and Dr. Kishimoto nodded.

"I see. You want to still be a part of your family's existence…yet you don't want to do the work involved. You want to have your cake and eat it too." Dr. Kishimoto sighed. "I won't lie to you, Kagami. Recovering from addiction is nothing short of a fucking nightmare."

Kagami inadvertently gulped when she heard the feminine voice of Dr. Kishimoto vocalize such a profane word.

"Like I said…I was there. I got addicted…I made my mistakes…I went through the rehab…and every step was an endless Hell. To this day I still feel like Sisyphus, the late king of Ephyra damned to forever roll that boulder up that hill as punishment for deception against his kingdom. Every day is a struggle, especially knowing that my little sister is still out there and committing all of these horrific atrocities against herself because I was too damn selfish to help her when she needed me the most." Dr. Kishimoto stated.

Kagami looked away again. "Are…are you telling me to go to…rehab?"

"A few days ago I requested a warrant to detain you for psychological reasons." Dr. Kishimoto replied, making Kagami snap her head back at the psychologist with a fresh glare until she added more. "About an hour after I received your phone call making this appointment, I received another call from the attorney I was consulting on this issue and he told me that my request to detain you and keep you under psychological hold was denied. They did a background check on you and after seeing your school records, they decided that you don't meet the necessary symptoms to qualify."

"You…you think I'm crazy?!" Kagami yelled at her.

"Addiction is a mental illness, yes, but I believe your issues are much deeper than that." Dr. Kishimoto replied. "I believe that you may have a personality disorder that makes you crave constant validation not because you're an egotist, but because you _need_ the verbal and emotional support of others to function. Without it, you'll collapse. I'm not telling you to do anything, Kagami, whether its rehab or something else that will help you. Tell me, Kagami, are you scared about starting college in the fall?"

Kagami felt more anger boil within her when she heard the issue that started all of her worries circle around and visit her again. The twin-tailed girl huffed and looked away. "I'm going to drop out."

"Do you think your friends and family will support that decision?"

"No…but I don't care anymore." Kagami snapped back. "What was that shit you were talking about earlier about protecting Tsukasa and the rest of them from me?"

"It has to go back to what I said about my sister. The Yuka Miyakawa that used to resemble the current version of Tsukasa is dead and what replaced her is a monster that is threatening to consume your whole world, Kagami." Dr. Kishimoto retorted with haste. "Like I said before, I am not fully up to speed with the true depth of my sister's depravity but I do know a few things about her and what is going through her mind. You many not believe me, but you are literally nothing to my sister no matter how many times she said she loved you or even had sex with you. My sister is using you for profit and you are still valuable to her in some way, shape or form…but the very second you become useless to her, she'll either cast you out or she'll kill you personally. Until then, Yuka will continue to do whatever she feels is necessary to brainwash you into thinking your friends and family are your enemies. She wants to drive a mental wedge between you and the people who truly care about you and make no mistake about this, Kagami, my sister will take matters into her own hands if one of your friends or family members tries to swoop in and save you. And to be perfectly honest…I'm worried about your little sister the most and what Yuka will do to her if Tsukasa tries to pry you away from her personally."

Kagami glared again. "Why is everyone telling me this?! Tsukasa is not in any danger by Yuka! I already confronted Yuka on this and she promised me that she harbored no ill feelings towards Tsukasa and would treat her like a sister, too!"

Dr. Kishimoto shook her head. "And you believe that, Kagami? Really? Think about all the things that Yuka has done to you, whether it involved sex, drugs, or violence. Ask yourself that once again, Kagami. Are you willing to stake literally everything you have on the word of my sister when she says she would never do anything to harm your sister?"

A long and disturbing pause settled upon the office. The only sound keeping any life forces present in the room at all was the ticking clock. Kagami couldn't help but ponder the question and she suddenly felt a strange sensation in her mind as Dr. Kishimoto awaited her response. Kagami's heart wanted to say that she trusted Yuka…but somehow her brain was in the midst of a civil war. Half her brain wanted to agree with her heart but there was one part of her brain that was telling her to believe Dr. Kishimoto and her hallucinations of Matsuri and Misao telling her Tsukasa was in grave danger. The room remained quiet until it was soon shattered by a digital beep coming from Kagami's wrist. The twin-tailed girl looked at her wrist and sighed.

"That's one hour and one session with you." Kagami said bitterly and stood. "I'm leaving now…and I trust I'll never see you again."

As Kagami stood and walked towards the door again, Dr. Kishimoto gave her final statement. "Kagami…good luck."

The twin-tailed girl didn't turn back to look at Dr. Kishimoto. She turned the doorknob and stormed out of the therapist's office, leaving her alone in her office and fearful for what the future had in store for Kagami. She removed her glasses from her face and rubbed her eyes while releasing a disappointing sigh.

Kagami finally arrived outside the office building and began to walk down the street until she spotted a small figure with blue hair and green eyes waiting for her. The twin-tailed girl sneered at Konata Izumi as she approached her and soon brushed passed her without giving her a second glance. Konata sighed and began following Kagami once again and walked by her side.

"So…how did it go?" She asked with genuine concern.

Kagami remained silent and narrowed her glare while keeping her stare facing forward.

"Listen, I know you probably don't want to see me or talk to me right now, but I just wanted to let you know that I still care a lot about you. I only recommended this because—" Konata was adding but was stopped when she felt Kagami suddenly turn and push her.

The shove was quick with so much angry vigor in its thrust that it caught Konata completely off guard. The shorter girl was no match for Kagami's push and she tried to land with her back against the wall of a building but she kept falling. Kagami pushed Konata into the entrance of an alleyway, but not just the average one. Konata landed with a squishy crash on several moldy bags of garbage that were piling around a rusted, overflowing dumpster. Konata's bodyweight broke through one of the bags and the contents of it exploded and landed on top of her.

When Konata recovered, she was covered in moldy, stinky, revolting garbage and flies began zipping around her head as Kagami stood above her with a deep and sinister stare of hate. Konata quickly removed a moldy banana peel from her hair and brushed green sludge out of her hair and off her clothes as she returned a look to Kagami, though hers was expressing more shock and hurt.

"I want you to stay away from me, Konata. I never want to see you ever again." Kagami sneered quietly but with nothing but pure and bitter sincerity in her voice. "If I ever see you again…I will fuck you up beyond all repair!"

Kagami quickly turned and kept walking down the street with her arms folded across her chest and Konata slowly pulled herself out of her filthy landing pad. She brushed more garbage off her as she watched with green eyes slowly beginning to fill with thickening moisture at the last friendly gesture her best friend gave her. She tried to hide her sniff until she felt her cell phone in her pocket vibrate.

Konata pulled her phone out and opened it to see a new text message from Hiyori Tamura.

_ My letter and Patty-chan's letter are done. Are we still on for Kagami?_

The blue-haired girl looked up at her twin-tailed friend becoming smaller and smaller down the street and Konata texted back.

_We're on. This Saturday. Remember the plan._


	26. Chapter 26

CHAPTER 25

Two days after Kagami's one-on-one session with Dr. Kishimoto, the twin-tailed girl only furthered her downward spiral into the darkest trenches of drug abuse, promiscuity, and overall dysfunction. She simply didn't want to believe the psychologist's words when she told her about Yuka Miyakawa's childhood or that Dr. Kishimoto's little sister was only manipulating and lying to her. It wasn't just the fact that Kagami didn't want to picture Yuka Miyakawa as a little girl being raped and sexually tortured by her uncle, but she especially didn't want to believe that her presumed lover was only using her. The troubled Hiiragi girl's addiction was reaching new peaks to the point where her grasp and concept of reality was beginning to crumble and she would only hear and see what she wanted to hear and see because without the drugs, reality was just too damn depressing. Her sister was dead, her friend was dead, she couldn't take the weight of the world anymore; all of it was too much.

Kagami's simple refusal to believe Dr. Kishimoto's words aided in her choices to further alienate herself from her friends and family, though even Yuka Miyakawa herself noticed that Kagami was becoming more depressed despite the drugs. The sinister girl also feared that her experiment on Kagami with the new drug she called Satan's Blood was a failure after all. Kagami had yet to display one single display of pure rage and even her nightmares had subsided. Of course, this didn't mean that Miyakawa was simply going to give up. She still had other drugs she wanted to experiment on Kagami, though the twin-tailed girl was still completely oblivious to the fact that she had gone from Miyakawa's sex toy to her laboratory.

Kagami slowly awoke feeling stiff as a board and glanced around her surroundings. She wasn't in Miyakawa's apartment. She was in a dark space that smelled putrid and all she could see was blackness. The darkness and the horrid smell were the only things she could comprehend and she began to lift her pulsing head up, hearing a vast collection of solid matter shift below her with each movement. Several sharp things began to poke her across her body while she felt her hand touch something wet and moldy. She could also hear the buzzing of flies zip past her ears and Kagami slowly sat up and her head instantly struck a plastic barrier, though she was able to push it up.

When she pushed the plastic lid up, she was immediately engulfed by the bright sunshine of the morning rays and she had to shield her eyes from the burning light that also illuminated her pasty pale flesh. It all began to return to Kagami when she realized she was sitting in a city dumpster tucked in another alley. The events of last night suddenly replayed in her mind. She had never entertained three men at the same time before but they made sure they got their money's worth out of her by making it a group encounter all at once. After they were done with her, a large thunderstorm arrived and Kagami asked for a ride from them back to Miyakawa's apartment. They laughed at her and pushed her out of the car in the rain and sped off, making Kagami take shelter in the dumpster. Kagami ran her hand through her long hair and her hand was immediately tangled in her crispy and crusty hair, forcing her to use more force to get her fingers through it all.

"I told those assholes not to release it in my hair." She uttered to herself as she slowly began to climb out of the rusting green container until she crawled to the other side and fell to the ground.

Kagami felt so weak as her budding eating disorder continued to sap away all her strength as she struggled to pull herself to her feet. She felt the bones in her legs crack and quake when she slowly rose to her feet and began walking down the street again. She still didn't feel hungry but couldn't stop shivering from coldness despite how warm the morning was. The addiction's withdrawal was beginning to return and something needed to be done about it as far as she was concerned. She needed to find Ryuji, who was recovering well from his injuries inflicted onto him by the rival gang a few days earlier.

As Kagami walked in her tight and revealing clothes that only consisted of a red tube top that only covered her breasts, a tight black mini skirt, fishnet stockings, and red high heels, she started to think about one thing Dr. Kishimoto said two days earlier that did sink in. She couldn't stop thinking about Tsukasa. She barely remembered hurting her the ways she did whether it was physically assaulting her or lying to and manipulating her so she could do drugs and prostitute herself in the family home. Still, her conscience was weighed with guilt and she wanted to see her again, if not just to apologize and nothing more. The withdrawal was bringing her back to reality and every time that would happen, all the horrible things she did to Tsukasa and the rest of her family would become clear again, which only made Kagami want to do more drugs. She was even beginning to remember the very last words she ever said to Tsukasa during the family quarrel.

_"I hate you Tsukasa! I fucking hate you!"_

Another thing Kagami couldn't get out of her mind was why both Dr. Kishimoto and her hallucinations of Matsuri were telling her to protect Tsukasa from Yuka Miyakawa. Because of the drugs and the role Miyakawa was playing in Kagami's life, she still didn't see her as a danger to Tsukasa even though she couldn't have been further from the truth. The depraved sociopath in Miyakawa had plans for Tsukasa that also involved the drug she was experimenting on Kagami though for now it looked like those plans weren't going to come to fruition.

Kagami continued to walk down the desolate, crime-ridden street where the buildings were covered in gang graffiti while windows were smashed and homeless people begged for money on the street curbs. She didn't even know where she was going at this point; her legs just kept carrying her further down a random direction. Kagami felt like a soulless being as she shivered from the internal cold. Her lightheadedness also made her rock back and forth as a result of her hunger though she still couldn't feel it and she nearly lost her balance a few times.

As she walked though, a new sensation was able to plow its way through the other withdrawal symptoms and make itself a blunt reality. Her private parts covered by her dirty underwear began to itch and tingle and she tried to ignore it and keep walking but the irritating feelings wouldn't leave her alone. It got so bad that Kagami couldn't ignore it any longer and she eventually found a fast food restaurant so she could use the bathroom.

She locked herself in one of the stalls and gave herself an exam on her privates and regrettably it didn't take long for her to find something that wasn't supposed to be there. A red rash was beginning to cover her groin with several white bumps also rising from within the rash. Kagami may not have been a medical expert but she instantly began to panic with deepening gasps and trembling when the first thing that came to her mind was a sexually transmitted disease. She quickly covered her area again and sat on the toilet to bury her face in her open palms while gasping for air. Kagami inhaled and exhaled deep breaths over and over again to try and calm herself as she tried to reassure herself that maybe it was something else. Maybe it was a simple rash from sleeping in the dumpster all night. Maybe it was some kind of bizarre reaction to the drugs. Kagami tried to create a long list of other possibilities and also realized that she wouldn't have to worry about it if she got more drugs in her system.

The troubled Hiiragi girl did her best to keep her latest addition of disturbing discoveries out of her mind and once again began walking aimlessly down the street while still trying to ignore the itching beneath her panties. Using some of the money she was given for her previous night's perversion, she stopped at a pharmacy to buy the best anti-itch cream she could find, all the while getting stares from everyone in the store. Some even held their noses as she walked by to shield their senses from the putrid stench that was coming off Kagami's body from the dumpster.

When Kagami bought her pharmaceuticals and made it back to Miyakawa's apartment, she discovered that she was the only one there and to a certain extent she was happy. She didn't want to let this issue become a public affair, at least not until it would be forced to become one. Kagami quarantined herself in the bathroom and began applying the over-the-counter drugs to try and stop the itching that was beginning to turn into a burning sensation across her groin. She started crying in both frustration and anguish when she applied the entire tube and it didn't stop or even slow the uncomfortable feelings ravaging her loins.

"What the fuck?!" Kagami screamed and threw the empty and flattened tube across the bathroom and curled into a ball. "Why is this happening to me?! I can't fucking take this anymore!"

Kagami yelled again and curled into a ball and started crying on the bathroom floor. Her tears rolled down her face and formed puddles around her head as she rested on the cold tile floor as she hugged herself tightly and continued to tremble. Silence of Miyakawa's empty apartment was the only thing that kept her company and her ongoing whimpering and crying in the bathroom as the only sound source. Kagami didn't even have a formal diagnosis yet but she already felt so alone and was also beginning to reconsider suicide, the first option she entertained after Misao died before she made her first call to Ryuji.

As Kagami wallowed on the floor, an idea suddenly struck as this seemed like a déjà vu setup. She remembered the last time she saw her family, the day her mother walked in on her while she was injecting heroin into her veins, which kick started the fight where Kagami nearly murdered her own mother. Before Kagami strangled Miki, she remembered a secret stash of cocaine she hid underneath the toilet seat; a trick that she was taught by Yuka Miyakawa.

Kagami quickly sprung up, dashed to the toilet, and tore the lid off the top of the toilet and flipped it around. She immediately began crying tears of joy when she saw clear plastic bags filled with white powder sealed to the lid with duct tape. The twin-tailed girl wasted no time in ripping the bags off the lid and opened them. Tasting a bit with her tongue, she realized it was heroin that was stashed under the lid so she initiated the usual procedures of melting down the powder with a bit of water in a spoon, taking it into a clean syringe, swabbed the flesh between her toes with alcohol, and injected it into her body.

Feeling the rollercoaster of sunshine speed through her veins again, Kagami's earlier fears of acquiring a sexually transmitted disease now became a distant memory as she became high again. Still, she still somehow had enough sense to get the rash and bumps around her groin checked out so after she let enough time go by where she was still high but slowly coming out of it, Kagami left Miyakawa's apartment again and walked into the first free clinic she could find and waited to be examined.

Keeping to herself, Kagami looked around at the other patients waiting to be examined and some had injuries that were far more serious than her predicament but at the same time they too were keeping quiet and to themselves about them. Some had stab or gunshot wounds and were doing their best to keep their injuries hidden so it was clear to Kagami that she wasn't the only criminal looking for medical attention that day. The waiting room of the clinic was also bordering on a state of disrepair. Kagami saw some holes punched in the walls near light switches and electric plug outlets and it clicked in her mind that people had tried to steal copper wiring within the walls before.

Because of her situation and the little information she gave the receptionist about herself, Kagami was waiting for awhile. She did know that free clinics offered help to people with little to no money or medical coverage but they still required some information from them. Kagami did her best to try and keep them in the dark as much as possible about who she was and why she was there, mainly for fear of it leading to the police being called. Even though she still didn't know how sinister and evil Yuka Miyakawa was, Kagami still knew that she willingly took part in different thefts and assisted in drug operations, as well as possessing them, which was enough for the police to be called on her.

After sitting and waiting for an hour, a nurse finally called Kagami's name and she tried to hide the pain she felt when she stood up and followed the nurse into an exam room and was told to sit on the stand.

"So what can I do for you today?" The nurse asked as she sat down and opened her chart.

Kagami hesitated at first as she leered with hostility at the nurse until she eventually responded. "I have a rash that's burning and itching around my groin."

The nurse jotted it down. "Okay and are you sexually active?"

Kagami tightened her glare. "…I guess so…"

The nurse nodded a sarcastic gesture and kept going. "How many sexual partners have you had in the last month?"

It was this question that made Kagami rear her aggressive side. "What the hell kind of question is that?! Look, all I want is for someone to look at this fucking rash so I can get out of here! I was waiting for over an hour so why don't you do your job and look at it?!"

The nurse all the while remained calm and collective. Kagami didn't give her or anyone else working at the clinic much credit since they've seen not only their fair share of street injuries, but most of those injuries also came with street thugs so the nurse knew exactly how to handle the situation.

"There's no need to get snippy with me, sweety. I'm just doing my job." She replied calmly. "Now I know these are embarrassing questions but they're all necessary and you're gonna have to answer them if you want any help. How many men have you slept with since you became a prostitute?"

Hearing the same question rephrased at the end made Kagami's eyes go as wide as dinner plates and it was her stuttering that revealed herself to the nurse. Knowing she was caught, all Kagami could ask was, "How did you know?"

The nurse sighed. "Unfortunately dear, you're not the first young lady to come into my clinic dressed the way you are and complaining about a bad rash or bumps or whatever. I've been working here for fifteen years, almost as long as you've been alive so I know a prostitute when I see one. How many men, dear?"

Kagami looked away as the withdrawal of the heroin was beginning to take hold once again and her shame began to return when she answered. "I can't give you an exact number. Thirty…maybe forty. I don't know anymore."

The nurse couldn't help but sigh as she wrote her notes down. "You know this is none of my business, but this isn't the kind of life for you, darling. I have a niece about your age and it would kill me to see her in your position."

"My life…my life is complicated." Kagami quickly retorted in a feeble attempt at justifying her lifestyle.

"Life in general is complicated, sweety, but don't worry I'm not here to judge." She said and closed her chart and slipped on elastic gloves. "Now let's get down to business. Show me where it hurts."

Kagami blushed slightly at doing this but regardless she stood and slid her panties down and lifted her skirt so the nurse could examine her privates. The nurse took a few swabs of the soft and moist irritated flesh to be analyzed and Kagami was eventually allowed to leave the clinic with no form of closure. She would have to return to the clinic in a few days to know what was happening to her since she didn't give any cell phone or email addresses to be contacted by.

Still feeling hollowed yet somehow filled with fear, Kagami once again began walking throughout the Aku District and kept contemplating her next move. What was she to do now? She could go back to Miyakawa's apartment and take a shower or she could hang out at Teasers until she would strip again tonight. She could also simply go back to Miyakawa's apartment and take a nap on a bed instead of inside a dumpster. All of these possibilities, none of which were going to help her project her life forward, yet she still didn't care. Kagami felt mixed emotions about everything and began to think that maybe Dr. Kishimoto's words from two days earlier were correct about her after all. She honestly did want to keep her family in her life but at the same time knew that if they were going to be a part of her life, they would want her to go to rehab and get clean, which was obviously something she didn't want to do. Kagami wanted her family and friends but at the same time didn't want to do the hard work it would take to keep them.

"Ka…Kagami...?" A weak and frail voice asked from behind the twin-tailed girl.

Still feeling paranoid because of the drug side effects and still remembering the night she was sodomized, Kagami quickly spun around with her guard up and ready to fight. Imagine her surprise when she identified the source of the voice belonging to Patricia Martin, who stood before her and she also looked in rough shape. Her clothes were wrinkled and dirty, her hair was a mess, and she had sad eyes.

"Pa…Patty-chan?" Kagami asked with a perplexed look. "What are you doing here?"

To Kagami's further astonishment, Patty gripped her arm and began rubbing it. "I…I was just…I was just hoping for…for a fix."

Kagami's eyes formed a look that both illustrated surprise and skepticism. "A fix? What do you mean?"

"I think you know exactly what I mean." Patty snapped and rolled up her sleeve to show Kagami yet another shocking revelation. Patty's left arm was riddled with red marks and one collapsed vein from what appeared to be real heroin abuse.

Kagami squinted at the sight and glanced back at Patty. "Patty…I…I didn't know."

"Well you're not the only one with problems, you know!" Patty bit back with an angry glare. "I've been suffering for a long time, too! I have a lot of fucked up family drama behind closed doors! You think I came to Japan _just_ for the otaku lifestyle?! The otaku lifestyle was just another reason to sweeten the deal. I ran away from my home but my problems just kept following me."

The twin-tailed girl tilted her head with a sigh. "I…I'm sorry. I had no idea."

Patty glanced away while starting to increase the rubbing rate on her arm. "Yeah well whatever. Anyway…you know where I can score some good stuff?"

Something about this still seemed a little fishy to the twin-tailed Hiiragi. Patty was never this emotionally distraught before and it seemed highly unlikely to Kagami that Patty would suddenly change from happy-go-lucky to a depressed and dysfunctional junkie like her. Still, Kagami didn't want to be one to judge, especially when Patty mentioned family drama since she was easily able to relate. It was this reason Patty gave to justify her hidden heroin abuse that made Kagami accept Patty and Kagami nodded to her.

"Yeah. Yeah I can get you what you need. Follow me." Kagami turned again and began walking down the street, thus prompting the golden-haired friend of Konata Izumi to follow Kagami.

"I know that you already know my story so what's going on with you?" Kagami asked Patty as they walked down the street together.

Patty sighed. "My parents had been fighting for the longest time and sometimes it would get violet. I used to cry myself to sleep under the covers while I listened to my mother scream and throw things at my dad and accuse him of cheating on her. I hopped on the first plane I could to get out of that cesspit so here I am but my problems kept following me. Did you know I was fired from the cosplay café Konata and I work at?"

Kagami glanced at her and shook her head. "No I wasn't aware."

"Well I was. I had received a phone call the night before I was fired and I found out my parents were splitting up. I started using heroin to try and deal with it and I showed up to work high as the stars." Patty informed Kagami. "When my boss found out he fired me on the spot and I've been using ever since. It was only a few weeks ago but goddamn…it never ceases to amaze me how fast shit can get fucked up."

Once again, Kagami had to agree with Patty. Kagami couldn't help recall how fast her tragic decline happened and it was still happening so fast that so far the troubled Hiiragi was still having a hard time comprehending it. In two days she graduated high school and went from feeling on top of the world, to losing her sister in a tragic car accident. Before she knew it, Misao was also gone. After Misao died, everything continued to fall apart for Kagami and before she knew it, she was not only shooting heroin and smoking crack, she was sleeping with and taking her clothes off for strange men for money to keep her downfall going.

The two girls neared the edge of the Aku District and the building started to become less tarnished and grotesque. Kagami knew this section and this was the quickest way to get back to Miyakawa's apartment and Teasers, where she planned on hooking Patty up with heroin or whatever she desired. As they walked, the two girls passed a building that caught Patty's attention. It appeared to be an apartment building but more upscale than the rest of them in the Aku District.

"Wait a second, Kagami. I know a guy who lives here who is my dealer." Patty informed and looked at her watch. "It's a little past noon so he should be up there. Let's go up and see him."

Kagami was reluctant at first. She was told by Ryuji and his psychotic cousin to _never_ obtain her drugs from anybody except them because there was a chance the next drug dealer she would come across would be one of the rival gangbangers. However, Kagami decided that she could help them by doing her own "recon" mission and if Patty's dealer was a gangbanger, she could learn a few things about him and report it back to them to help with their rivalries with them. It was this line of thinking that made Kagami agree to it and she followed Patty into the building and up the flights of stairs.

To Kagami's surprise, it wasn't an apartment building. It looked more like a general studio on each floor where art students or musicians would rent the level for privacy or to create their artwork. The two girls made it to the top floor and walked down a single corridor where a door was standing on the other side of it. Patty led the way and when they arrived at the door, the golden-haired girl took the initiative and knocked on it three times.

Patty waited for a few seconds, which Kagami interpreted as a signal from Patty to the dealer on the other side to let him know it was a customer and not another rival so he wouldn't start shooting them through the door. Patty grasped the doorknob and opened the door and allowed Kagami to walk in first.

Kagami took her steps into another large and spacious studio setup, but she didn't expect to see her mother, father, oldest sister, and youngest sister sitting in chairs before her. She also didn't expect to see Konata Izumi, Ayano Minegishi, Yutaka Kobayakawa, Minami Iwasaki, Miyuki Takara, Hiyori Tamura, and Dr. Nagisa Kishimoto also sitting in chairs in the studio setup. Nevertheless, all these people were still there and looking at her. Patty quickly closed the door behind them and Kagami started looking around quickly with paranoia.

"What the hell is all of this?!" Kagami snapped while beginning to sweat.

Dr. Kishimoto stood and smiled at Kagami. "We're glad you could make it, Kagami, and I must say it is a pleasure seeing you again. We've all been talking and from what I can conclude…you have the world's biggest fan club here, Kagami. Now all these people took time out of their lives to see you and be with you today so how about we let everyone say what they want to say and then we can take it from there?"

Kagami tightened her glare and started gritting her teeth. She quickly turned back to Patty, who licked her fingers and moved her moistened digits to her arm with the marks and collapsed vein and began removing them. It was makeup on her arm and Patty looked up.

"What is this, Patty?!" Kagami snapped again.

Patty cleared her throat and calmly replied, "This is your intervention."


	27. Chapter 27

CHAPTER 26

"No! No! No! Fuck this shit! Fuck all of you! I'm getting the fuck out of here!" Kagami angrily retorted to her friends' and family's display of how much they wanted to help her and she turned and headed for the exit.

Patty however was there to block the door. "I'm afraid I can't let you go, Kagami. This all has to stop today."

Kagami stood before Patty with her angry eyes mounting a violent assault. "Get out of my way, Patty, or I will break your fucking neck right where you stand!"

The golden-haired girl tried to hide her fear of the enraged twin-tailed girl but couldn't help but gulp and replied. "Then do it, Kagami, because I would rather be dead than to see you like this."

Kagami quickly latched onto Patty's top and pulled her close, triggering Konata and Ayano to leap up and rush over as everyone stood and readied themselves to break up an impending fight. Kagami held onto Patty and panted her teeth-rearing rancor stare at the foreign girl as Ayano latched onto Kagami's arm while Konata gripped the other.

"Hiiragi-chan, please calm down and just listen to us talk for half an hour." Ayano whispered affectionately but with clear fright in her voice. "Just half an hour. That's all we're asking of you. What's half an hour out of your entire day?"

Konata nodded. "Listen to her, Kagami. Don't be mad at Patty. This intervention was my idea so if you're going to hurt anybody, hurt me. All we want is to talk to you. It'll be just like your appointment with Dr. Kishimoto. All you have to do is sit and listen to us for thirty minutes and then we'll put the ball back in your court."

Kagami still gripped Patty who still stared back at her while trying to hide her fear. Patty cleared her throat and whispered, "Please, Kagami. Thirty minutes. That's all."

Kagami still panted ferociously at Patty with an animalistic stare of pure hatred while grinding her teeth. The twin-tailed girl finally took a deep breath and released Patty and pushed her back. With an attitude to match her angry stare, Kagami turned and stomped to the circle of chairs and for the first time, she realized that she was standing in a museum of herself. All of the Hiiragi family photo moments that Tsukasa worked so feverishly to decorate the room with hung from the walls around her and Kagami felt as if she was drowning in a sea of her own pixilated smiles. Kagami sat down next to Tsukasa, the latter trembling with fright and even disgust over her older sister's incredibly revealing outfit.

"Fine I'll go along with this little fucked up skit and then I'm out of here!" Kagami barked and it made Tsukasa cringe.

"Please don't use such language, Kagami. Tsukasa is scared." Inori weakly whispered as she knew how delicate this situation was.

However, Kagami suddenly found backup in an unlikely source in Dr. Kishimoto when she said, "Now, now, we must let Kagami express herself as she feels fit. This is her life after all and she shouldn't feel censored in anyway."

Kagami however viewed Dr. Kishimoto as another enemy and hissed, "I suppose I have _you_ to thank for all this shit as well."

Dr. Kishimoto formed a small yet confident smirk and shook her head. "Not at all, Kagami. This intervention was your friend's idea like she said. I was just invited by your mother and father to oversee it and I really wanted to see you too and that's the truth."

The angry twin-tailed girl was still confused by Dr. Kishimoto's never-ending confidence and kindness, even in the face of Kagami's drug-fueled temper. Kagami huffed as she crossed her arms and legs as a body language gesture to shield herself and she replied, "I thought everything I told you was going to be kept confident."

"It still is. Your family and friends don't know anything about what we talked about because I promised you I would never let it leave my office." Dr. Kishimoto replied while keeping her small smile.

"That's true. It was me who told your family that you went to the appointment…and I also planned this intervention with them." Konata replied while looking at the floor.

"Yes, but enough of that for now. We're all here and Kagami is here, which is the most important part so let's begin." Dr. Kishimoto said. "Kagami…I truly envy you and I believe that you are the luckiest girl in the world. When I was your age, I _never_ had as many friends and supporters as you do now. We're all here today because we're very distraught over the decisions you've been making and we want to help you. Now all of your friends and family have written you letters filled with their inner most thoughts and feelings about you and I'm just going to sit back and let them speak. Let's begin with you, Miki-san."

Miki nodded back to the therapist and she shifted her body towards Kagami, who still kept her arms and legs crossed in a hostile display while staring into space. Miki lifted the piece of paper to her face and began.

"I love you, Kagami. Those are the first words I want you to hear from me. You're my daughter, my flesh and blood, my heart, my soul, my life. You have made me _so_ proud over the years and I'm still very proud of you…but you have hurt us deeply. I will admit that I scrutinized and criticized you when I should have gotten you help, and for that I am sorry. However, I still cannot simply look past what you have done to all of us. Your addiction to drugs has broken our family after you were forced to suffer two unimaginably tragic losses in your life. You have not only hurt us mentally, but physically. Your need to hide drugs in the house also caused Tsukasa to accidentally have a slight overdose and the police made us wait outside while they searched it for more drugs while we were forced to watch. Despite all of that, I cannot and will not deny the fact that I still love you and that I want to help you. You will never know how truly sorry I am for the pain you feel and I would redirect it to me in a second if I could. This is not how I envisioned your life would be. From the moment I first held you in my arms, I saw your entire life before you had even lived it. I saw you making lots of friends, doing well in school, going to college, meeting that extra special someone, and to one day know the true joy of becoming a mother yourself one day. The same joy I felt everyday when I would wake up in the morning and see your beautiful, smiling face. Just simply knowing you were there sent a constant beam of happiness into my body and my soul felt warm and as colorful as every shade in the rainbow. But now…my rainbow has faded. Knowing that you are out in the streets doing these things to yourself has turned the beautiful and perfect spring meadow that was my vision of you into a dark and frightening forest on a stormy night. What you're doing with yourself now has hurt me deeply and I'm afraid _for_ you and _of_ you, Kagami. I'm scared of what you've become, what you've done, and what you'll do next. No matter what you decide to do from here on out, I will _always_ be your mother and you will _always_ be my daughter…but I'll always be in pain like you are knowing that I did all I could for you and that I couldn't save you. Please, Kagami. Please accept any help that is offered to you today. Please let yourself become better. Please build your life the way it was supposed to be built; on pillars of strength, not on syringes. I love you, Kagami." Miki's eyes flooded as she finished her letter and lowered it from her face as she dripped the water and her husband was there to wrap his arm around her shoulder and pull her tight.

"That's very nice, Miki-san." Dr. Kishimoto said and observed Kagami, who looked unfazed by the letter so she turned to the next person inline. "Tadao-san, if you would please."

"Yes, ma'am." He said and looked at Kagami who refused to look at him as he read his letter. "Dear Kagami. I'll never forget that one hot summer night on July 7th when our family doctor delivered you and happily proclaimed that I had a third daughter, a blessing I truly felt was a sign from the gods above us. I remember the first time you looked at me in your baby blanket as I held you. You stared at me for the longest time with your beautiful eyes and you suddenly lifted your arms up and whimpered, as if you were trying to pull me close. I held my index finger out and you latched onto it with a strong grip and laughed happily. It was at that moment that I knew that you were going to be a strong woman, both physically and mentally. You weren't fazed by anything as a child and your dedication to your twin sister made you _my_ personal hero. Like I told you before awhile ago in your room after your friend was tragically taken from us; your grandfather, Taichi, would be so proud if he could see what you've accomplished so far and that you have proved his beliefs that women are truly remarkable and strong entities that have strength within them that cannot be measured. But Kagami…what you have been doing to yourself has hurt me so much that I have spent many hours at night crying. To think that one of my daughters is using her body; a work of divine vision and a sacred vessel for ushering in new life into this world as a source of income to purchase means to destroy it…the pain is indescribable. I have no idea who you've been staying with or where you acquired these drugs…or even who these 'men' are that have done unspeakable things to your body…but Kagami…you deserve so much better than this. You deserve to live in only the finest of settings and living in the streets is far from what I want for you. So here I sit as your father on his knees begging you to let us help you. Your mother and sisters and I miss you. We miss your strong charisma, your independent persona, your side that is never afraid to show affection to the ones you love the most…but most of all…we miss who you were. You were our Kagami Hiiragi, the one who would always make us laugh, make us smile, make us think…make us live. Please prove your grandfather Taichi right once again by showing us the strength we all know you have to pull yourself up and beat this illness so we can be a family again. Remember Kagami…I love you. I'll always love you…and I'll always think about you and pray for you. Please come back to us, Kagami."

Tadao joined his wife in trying to hide the moisture in his eyes as he lowered his letter and Kagami pulled herself tighter as a way of strengthening her shields. Dr. Kishimoto however nodded with a smile. "Thank you, Tadao-san. Inori-san, I believe you're next."

Inori gulped and felt a chill as she cleared her throat and looked at her letter. "Kagami…I'll never forget the first day mom told us she was pregnant with Matsuri. I was the oldest and only child up until then and I'll admit that I wanted it to stay that way. But when Matsuri was born, the two of us not only became sisters, but best friends as well. I was overjoyed when mom came back to us and told us that she was pregnant again but with twins this time. As dad said, I remember that one July 7th when I was allowed to hold you in my arms and I tickled your belly and you laughed. I felt so happy when you laughed. I miss that now, Kagami. I haven't heard you laugh since Matsuri passed away in that tragic accident and I can't even begin to tell you how much I want to see you smile and laugh again. I also always wanted to be the leader of our group where you and Matsuri and Tsukasa could come to me for anything…but you never needed to do that because you already became strong for Tsukasa's sake. In a way, we all allowed ourselves to become a little weaker because you were always strong and level-headed enough for all of us. But you were never afraid to show us just how much you loved us and wanted to take part in all the things that made our family special. Remember when you received your first Miko outfit when you were six years old? We were all so happy and Tsukasa also got hers at the same time and the two of you in your little outfits became our Christmas card that year. There were times that even Matsuri didn't want to take part in our shrine…but you were always there to persuade her because you knew how important it was to mom and dad. If Matsuri was alive today and could see you now…what would she say? These drugs just numb the pain; they don't make it go away. We can make the pain go away forever but we'll need to work together. Please let us help you. We all know the road to recovery will be long and hard but we'll always be here for you, Kagami. Please let us help you get better. Please come home to us. Please be our pillar of strength and source of inspiration again. I love you, baby sister."

Inori tried to remain strong unlike her parents but it too proved impossible when she removed the letter from her face, showing the extent of the leaking from her eyes. "Thank you for that, Inori-san. Tsukasa-chan has requested to go last so with that let's move onto you, Patty-chan."

The golden-haired girl nodded and began to read her letter. "Dear Kagami. First off I wish to apologize for deceiving you the way I did, but I feel my actions were justified because I really wanted to say these things to you today. Even before I met you and your sister at the cosplay café that Konata and I work at, Konata would only talk about you and how much her friendship to you meant. Even before I met you…I wanted you and I to have a friendship like that. The way Konata described you and how truly remarkable you are…I was always envious of Konata for being able to have a friend like you. When we started hanging out more, I knew that she wasn't exaggerating. I know I never told you this, Kagami, but I always looked up to you and wanted us to be closer friends, but it was something that simply wasn't meant to be. Remember when I got all of us to do the cheerleading routine for the school festival's opening act? And remember when you got angry with me for falling off track and you began to give out orders and coordinate everything? That was all on purpose. I wanted to find a choreography routine that would not only give off an otaku vibe, but I wanted it to be graceful and majestic so everyone could see how incredible and talented you are…and you know what? It was worth it. I knew everyone in that audience was clapping for you the most when we were done and they were right to do so. Konata and I are a lot alike where we didn't have many friends growing up because of our interests, but we're also a lot alike because we had you in our lives. You were truly a dream for us, Kagami. A very intelligent, beautiful, and popular girl who accepted us into your life and didn't shun or ostracize us from your shadow. But this new side of you is nothing short of a disgrace to the person you once were and the person who I believe you still are underneath. With that said, I'm afraid that I cannot be your friend anymore if you choose to stay this way. Even though you and I were never best friends, I still promise to support you and be there for you if you go to rehab and get clean. If you can do this…I just want what I believe everyone else wants; for everything to go back to the way it used to be and for you to be a part of all of us again. We love you, Kagami. Please get clean for yourself and for us."

Patty folded her letter and sat back down with a slight blush on her face indicating her flaring emotions. Dr. Kishimoto nodded again as she played with her pen and smiled. "Thank you, Patty-chan, that was very deep. Tamura-san, I believe you're next."

Hiyori Tamura nodded and slowly raised her letter up and adjusted her glasses as she readied to vocalize her words. She glanced at Kagami, who was still remaining unresponsive to any of the words coming from her friends and family, but it was what was happening inside Kagami that was the real event. A hurricane cloud of nothing but utter rage and violence was beginning to form inside the troubled Hiiragi daughter and it was coming to a boiling point. Yuka Miyakawa's experiment on Kagami with the Satan's Blood drug may not have been a failure after all.

"Dear Kagami, I wrote my letter with Patty-chan because a lot of our feelings about you are the same. We didn't have many friends when we were younger and we always looked at you as a source of inspiration and leadership. You know that I'm not the kind of person who would pry into your family or personal life, but I cannot sit idly by anymore, which is why I'm here today. Please stop hurting us. Not just your friends, but also your family, too. I know what it's like to feel pain and act out on it. When I was in middle school before I went to Ryoo, I went through a phase where I was very dark and I dressed and acted like it because I too was suffering. I won't say I know how it feels to lose a sibling or a friend, but I still acted out and I hurt my family a lot until I finally got my act together. I was able to get my act together…because of people like you, Kagami. People who weren't afraid of any kind of challenge and didn't know how to quit on the ones they love. Your parents remind me a lot of my family; people with immeasurable strength who loved me so much so I beg of you, Kagami, please let all of us help you and get you clean and trust your family. If we're not able to save you, I will also feel responsible in my own way because I was in your position at one point where I had given up on life. If you keep giving up and one day something truly terrible and irreversible happens to you, it'll not only mean the end of our friendship, but also the end of the very definition of the word hope. Just like what Patty-chan said; please get clean for yourself and for us so that everything can go back to the way it used to be. We just want you to be a part of our lives again and if you can do that, then we'll be overjoyed and accept you again with no questions asked because you're just _that_ treasured to us, Kagami. Thank you for listening to me."

Hiyori tried in vain to hide her sniffle as she tucked her letter away and Kagami shifted slightly in her chair while looking at the floor, still unfazed outwardly by the words but her eyes were beginning to turn a shade of red as her anger continued to slowly boil. Dr Kishimoto adjusted her glasses again and cleared her throat. "Thank you, Tamura-san, and I understand how you feel. Minegishi-san, I believe you're next so if you would please."

Ayano took a deep breath and looked at Kagami, who for the first time shifted her eyes upward and looked at someone and it was her. The orange-haired girl gulped and began her letter. "Hiiragi-chan…we've known each other for a long time and despite everything that has happened so far, I'm still proud to call you my friend. Most of my memories with you and…Misa-chan…are filled with being buried in layers of our laughter and so many times we shared our stories, our secrets, and our happiness. But…when Misa-chan was taken from us…we were forced to share something else together. Our pain. I knew Misao Kusakabe for a long time, too, and what you've become is no way to honor her memory. Your drug abuse is destroying not only your relationship with your family, it's also destroying your relationship with me. My family won't even speak your name anymore or let me go to your home, if not to simply check on the rest of your family. When I heard that you were walking the streets of the Aku District late at night and getting in cars with horrible people, I never felt so sick in my life. I believe that I am one of the only ones in this room that can honestly say I know how you feel and that I can easily put myself in your shoes because Misa-chan was my best friend…even before we met you. Like I said before…I still consider you my friend despite all that you've done and I still want us to be friends because I need you, Kagami Hiiragi. I _need_ you in my life now that Misa-chan is gone. I _need_ to know that I will get through this. I _need_ to know that everything will be all right. I _need_ to know that as I get older and I start going to college and start to tackle life…that I'm not alone and that you'll always be near me…either in reality or in spirit. You are not with me now. The Kagami Hiiragi that sits before me is a stranger that I know will not be able to help me or give me strength when I need it the most. I request that you seek any help that is offered to you today…because I miss the sounds of our laughter, Hiiragi-chan. I miss everything that used to be us every day. Please…please…seek help for yourself so you can help me mend the scar on my heart. I love you."

When Ayano finished her letter and revealed that she was fully crying as the water droplets slid down her cheeks, Tsukasa couldn't take it anymore. She quickly covered her face and was instantly comforted by Inori who sat next to her. Patty also hugged Tsukasa as Dr. Kishimoto also tried to remain professional and keep the water in her eyes from rising.

"Thank you, Ayano, that was very heartfelt and meaningful." Dr. Kishimoto added and shifted her focus to the smallest girl in the room. "Yutaka-chan…please share your thoughts to Kagami and the rest of us."

When the short, salmon-haired girl looked at Kagami and saw the redness of contempt swirling within her eyes, Yutaka gulped. Regardless, she knew Minami and Konata were there with her so she cleared her throat and began her letter. "Dear Kagami, I'll never forget the first day we met when you and your sister came to my cousin's house. I said that onee-chan had told me a lot about you and when you asked what she told you, I hesitated and gave you a confused look, and you got frustrated with her. To be honest, I think the bigger question should be 'what _hasn't _she told me about you. Even before I moved into her house for school, she would go on and on about you and how much she cherished you as a friend. After I met you and got to know you on a more personal level, I soon saw why Konata cherished you so much. I quickly saw you as something that I always wanted to be; strong in more ways than just one. You know that I have a weak constitution and that I easily get sick, but whenever I was near you, it made me feel stronger. In a way, I also sought to bring strong people in my life so I could always be around people like you, Kagami, and Minami-chan is also another example of that. However, more people rely on your strength, confidence, and leadership other than just your twin sister. We all look to you, Kagami…my cousin especially. I may be Konata's cousin and we may be joined by blood, but you are still able to give Konata an essence in her life that is still stronger than blood in this case. I can't even begin to tell you how hard it is to hear my cousin, Konata Izumi, the usual charismatic, vibrant, and happy girl cry herself to sleep through the walls every night since this all began. Please stop doing all of this, Kagami. Please stop making everyone who loves you cry and seek help. I don't want to leave here tonight with no hope or closure for either myself, your family, your friends, and especially my cousin. Please give us hope, Kagami. We love you so much. Thank you."

Yutaka tucked her letter away as Minami patted her gently on the shoulders. "Thank you, Yutaka-chan. Minami-chan?"

The green-haired girl nodded and held her letter up. "Kagami…I know we never got the opportunity to become close friends…and I regret that folly now more than ever. I always relied on Miyuki to be the mediator between me and you and the rest of your friends…and for never getting fully involved or telling you how much I care…I truly am sorry. Everyone knows that I'm not the biggest speaker in the world and I don't always say what's on my mind, but I am with the rest of our friends when I say that I cannot sit and stay quiet anymore. I wish that I had a friend like you when I was younger, Kagami. When I was younger, I would always get picked on and teased because of either my height or…my other quality about myself that I don't particularly care for. However, I was able to change so much about how I viewed myself when I started Ryoo High School and I met Yutaka. I instantly saw parallels between you and your twin sister. It was when I became friends with Yutaka that it made me change myself into a stronger person because I _wanted_ to be just like you, Kagami. I wanted Yutaka to see me as a big sister that would be there to love her and protect her and support her…just like how you always did for Tsukasa. But in lieu of everything that has happened since you graduated high school…I'm sorry to say that I do not want to be like you anymore. I do not want to make people hurt over my words and actions. I do not want to abandon people when they need me, especially the ones who need me the most. Addiction is a horrible journey, but recovery is the destination. Please Kagami, let Dr. Kishimoto and the rest of us help you today. Continue to be my source of inspiration of who I want to be in my life and for the people I care about. Please do this for us and yourself, Kagami. Thank you for listening to me and I hope that one day we can all look back on this event in our lives as a growing and bonding experience."

Dr. Kishimoto nodded and looked at Kagami, who glanced at her watch with a tightening frown in hopes that this would be over soon. "I hope so too, Minami-chan. Miyuki-san…take it away."

The pink-haired girl unfolded her letter and held it to her glasses. Her voice squeaked at first but she was able to reinforce it as she read. "Kagami-san…there is so much I want to say to you…yet there are so little words in any language that would be able to accurately communicate my true feelings for you…but I will do my best. I guess…I should start with saying that I love you so much. I remember when Konata-san came to my home awhile ago and told me about this intervention she was planning and I immediately jumped onboard because I wanted to be here today to tell you this and so many other things. To be honest Kagami-san…I always viewed you as one of my best friends and someone that I could truly relate to on more levels than just one. You were always honest and straightforward with me on everything, which was a quality that I always admired, and we both had tremendous respect for our academics and the concept of studying, which was one of the many things that I believe has bounded us closer together. However, I must ask…do you remember the last time we saw each other? It was at our high school graduation and you were having second thoughts about what you wanted to pursue in college and that we promised to meet each other at least one more time before I went to France. Well Kagami-san…this was not how I wanted us to meet again…and remember what I told you about your second thoughts about school? I told you to enjoy your life and youth and that there was no need to rush to any rash decisions. I believe that you are not enjoying yourself…but addiction is capable of so much and I know that it is not you who is making all these bad decisions. Kagami-san…I love you so much and if you cannot get clean…then I won't be able to go to France. I wouldn't be able to focus or even wake up in the morning knowing that you are throwing your life away. Please listen to everyone who has come out here today and accept any options that are given to you to help yourself. I don't want to lose you, Kagami-san. I love you. As I said before…I cannot effectively communicate everything I want to say to you on a simple piece of paper…so I'll once again say the only four words that are the most honest and sincere. I love you, Kagami-san. Thank you."

Miyuki refolded her letter and stared at Kagami, who still looked disinterested and almost oblivious to her surroundings and Miyuki was afraid that Kagami was high and that everyone's words thus far were in vain.

"Very good, Miyuki-san. And now…I believe that Konata-san has a lot to say to you, Kagami." Dr. Kishimoto said.

Konata took a deep breath and tried to fight back her own tears as she made her first gesture, which took everyone by surprise. She slowly stood, walked over to Kagami, and hugged her. Konata held her friend close while Kagami's hidden rage was beginning to reach new heights.

"Get off me, Konata." Kagami commanded strictly.

Konata only hugged her tighter and began to choke on her emotions. "I don't want to, Kagami. I'm so afraid that I'm going to lose you that I just wasn't to hold onto you forever…"

After a silent moment that was only interrupted by Tsukasa's whimpering, Kagami spoke again. "I said get off me, Konata, or I will kick you off and storm right out of this fucking charade right now."

Heeding the disgruntled Hiiragi's warning, Konata released Kagami and backed off. Quickly wiping a tear, Konata sat back down and began to vocalize her letter. "Dear Kagami…the first thing I want you to hear from me is that you're my best friend and I have never in my entire life met anyone like you. From the moment I first met Tsukasa, who then introduced me to you…I knew that we were going to be best friends. You always used to scrutinize or criticize me for living in the gaming world too much and wonder if I ever had any other friends besides you and Tsukasa…and the real truth is no…I didn't…but that was by design. I always believed that as long as I had you by my side…I didn't need anyone nor did I want anyone else. When you lost your sister and Kusakabe and started doing these horrible things…it took every bit of my strength not to start joining you. I care so much about you that I was prepared to abuse drugs and even prostitute myself with you…if for no other reason so that you wouldn't feel alone in doing them. With you gone and self-destructing…I found myself as the one who had to be there for Tsukasa, which also riddled me with endless guilt every time I would see her cry because I believed that I was failing her as a friend. And I also believe that I failed you as a friend too, Kagami Hiiragi. So I, right alongside everyone else here today, am here to show you and tell you that the only thing on my mind is getting you better and showing you that you'll never be alone. However, I must also be honest with you on something. I can't go on like this forever. I can't wake up every morning either feeling intense optimism that you'll turn your life around…or wake up only to feel searing fear that today will be the day that I'll learn that Yui-nee-san had found your body. I'm not going to ask, beg, or even plead that you go to rehab and get yourself clean. I am going to demand it of you right here and now. If you will not do this and you walk out that door by yourself…then I cannot be your friend anymore. Instead…I will have no choice but to take over your role as the protector and keeper of Tsukasa…because you have made a choice to be with the drugs and be with those sleazy men over your own family. Go to rehab, Kagami, and I promise you I'll visit as often as I can. I love you. Thank you."

Konata quickly mopped another tear and tucked her letter away. Dr. Kishimoto sighed and said, "Very good, Konata-san, very good. And now…I believe that you have quite a bit you want to say to your sister. Right, Tsukasa-chan?"

All eyes turned to the youngest Hiiragi daughter, who couldn't hide her crying anymore. She had been crying for the longest time now and she wiped her tears and nodded to the psychologist. Before Tsukasa unfolded her letter to Kagami, she went to the walls surrounding the room and began to take off some of the framed pictures hanging on them. When her task was complete, she returned with the bundles of pictures and instead of sitting in her chair, she crouched to her knees before Kagami, who refused to look at her.

Whimpering and crying as she did it, Tsukasa took her letter out but had a simple request first. "…Sis…may I…may I…hug…you…? Please…?"

The twin-tailed Hiiragi remained cold and distant to the one who probably loved her the most and still did despite everything that Kagami had done to her. Kagami rolled her eyes in annoyance at her twin's simple request but still opened her arms as an invitation. Tsukasa jumped at the opportunity and hugged Kagami tightly and began crying loudly on her shoulder, making everyone in the room tear-up at the sight; all except for Kagami.

"Jesus Christ, pull yourself together, Tsukasa! You're nothing but an embarrassment!" Kagami snapped and pushed Tsukasa off her, who nearly fell on her buttocks and it nearly triggered Miki and Tadao to react, but it was Tsukasa who called them off as she held her letter up.

She cleared her throat and began. "Kagami…sis…sissy…I love you so much. When we were younger and I was able to comprehend the fact that I had a twin sister, all I wanted to do was follow in her footsteps and worship her. I never saw myself as a leader or even a strong or brave girl, but I was never afraid either because I always knew you were there for me. You weren't just there for me during the bad times…but you were also there for me during the good times and we have shared so many precious memories, which is why I brought all these pictures today. I want to show some of the more memorable ones with you today."

Tsukasa placed her letter aside for the moment and began to hold up the pictures for Kagami, who looked at them but with a lifeless stare. The first picture was of Miki in a hospital bed holding the newborn twins. Next, the baby twins were in highchairs and Kagami was holding a spoonful of food out to Tsukasa sitting next to her, who was struggling to reach it. The third one showed the twins still as babies but in their pajamas on a couch with the sleeping Tsukasa resting her head on Kagami's shoulder, who rested her head on the top of Tsukasa's cranium. The fourth picture showed the twins in the bathtub together and they were hugging each other with large smiles on their faces. The fifth was when they were older and walking by this point and they were holding each other's hands as they walked down a sidewalk. Another one revealed Tsukasa after her failed attempt at learning how to ride a bicycle as she sat on the driveway with a skinned knee and was crying but Kagami was there putting a band-aid over the small wound. The seventh showed the twins at the amusement park together with the now vibrant Tsukasa begging to go back on the rollercoaster. The eighth image showed the twins at their induction ceremony at Ryoo High School, thus ushering in a major chapter in their lives. The ninth picture showed Kagami and Tsukasa after the infamous cheerleading act with the usual collective Kagami with her right arm wrapped around her sister's torso while she stuck her tongue out and pulled on her lower eyelid happily while Tsukasa held her pom-poms out also with a smile on her face. The final picture showed the twins in their graduation gowns in front of Ryoo High School; the last picture they ever took together.

Tsukasa put the pictures aside and returned to her letter. "I brought all these pictures with me today because I only wanted to remind you of all the precious times we shared together and how much you taught me about everything. You taught me how to live, to laugh, to love, everything. However, it was our father who taught me something that became a very sacred lesson to me; the fact that we are young woman and how incredible that makes us. We are women; jewels of the Earth that are hailed as sacrosanct creatures who are capable of such strength and such love at the same time. When we were growing up, I always knew dad and grandfather Taichi were right when they said these things because you are all the proof of that, Kagami. Sadly…I can no longer say that about you, sis. The person that you have become is not the wonderful, picturesque girl that I had the privilege and honor of calling my sister…and I must refer to you as a 'person' because you are not doing what our family believes is what defines a woman. A woman only knows strength against insurmountable odds. A woman knows how to be the strong and even hardened leader…but also the loving and affectionate mother and wife at the end of the day. Our own mother is the true epiphany of all of that. A woman leads by example. A woman only knows how to make choices that betters her life and the people she allows into her life. Sadly…the fact that you have done all these terrible things to yourself and the ones you love shows me that you have made a choice. You are choosing to hurt yourself and all of us who have come here today to help you. As a result…I am forced to go through sleepless nights worrying and crying over you because of your choices. I don't want to keep going on like this, sis. I want everything to go back to the way it used to be. I want all of us to be innocent and pure again. I want us to honor Matsuri by healing ourselves and moving on and showing the world our true strength as women. We lost someone very valuable to us…but as father always said to us; we're women…and we have a strength within us that cannot be measured by any Earthly system. Please show me the strength that I know lies within you, Kagami. Please show me not only your strength, but also hope that I too can one day be as strong and as incredible as you once were. I want…I want you back. I want…I want my sissy back. Please…come home with me, Kagami. Please don't leave me alone anymore. I love you, big sister Kagami Hiiragi."

Tsukasa continued to cry her eyes out as she finished her intervention speech and everyone had finally spoken their deepest and most affectionately true words to Kagami. All eyes were on Kagami as she lowered her head to shield her face in her long and dirty hair and everyone awaited her decision. The ball was now in her court and everyone was about to find out if Konata's intervention was going to be a big success or a massive calamity as the only noise left in the setup was the sound of Tsukasa's crying as she still rested on her knees before her twin sister.

**A/N: Upon completing this chapter I would like for everyone who reads it to go and hug someone close to them whether it's a parent, sibling, family member, friend, whoever means the most to you in life because take it from me. You never know who you have in life until they're gone. As always, thanks for reading and reviewing!**


	28. Chapter 28

CHAPTER 27

"Well, Kagami, as I said before, all I can see is just a giant group of people that loves you to death and wants to see you make the right decisions. Everyone wants you to get clean and I can help you with that. I already made a few phone calls and I was able to find you a clinic up north called White Mountain Rehabilitation Center and they're already expecting you." Dr. Kishimoto said as the group continued to stare at Kagami, who kept her head hanging low as Tsukasa gripped her sister's hand. "It's never too late to make a fresh start so what do you say we make everyone's dreams come true and we can leave here right now together, you and I, and we'll start your journey to recovery today."

Everyone felt themselves slide to the edge of their seats and it became unbearably quiet in the room. Some even folded their hands together and placed them under their chin in displays of prayer that Kagami would make the right decision. Konata dabbed her puffy green eyes again with a tissue while watching Tsukasa also drain her eyes of water while whimpering at the mercy of her sister's antics.

"You people…" Kagami's sudden voice emerging from under the entanglement of dirty black hair startled everyone, not because of its abruptness, but because of its sinisterly tone. "You people think you know what suffering is? You think that sitting on the sidelines and simply watching me wither away into the mess you see now is the true unbiased definition of pain? What gives you any right to pull a stunt like this today? How dare you try and understand what it's like to be inside my head…to feel what I feel…to see what I see…"

Tsukasa tightened her grip on her sister's hand as she feared that at any second she was going to lose Kagami. "Sis, we do understand and that's the truth, and that's why we're here. We're all here for you. This has never been about us. This has always been about you."

Kagami slowly turned her head to Tsukasa's face, her long and crusty hair sliding and slipping with each movement until Tsukasa finally saw her sister's eyes. The creature that Tsukasa now sat on her knees for was not her sister. Deep in the shadows of Kagami's hair and head sat two burning eyes of nothing but utter repugnant hatred. A disturbing crimson ring now plagued Kagami's once violet iris's while the formerly white sclera's in each eye was beginning to crack and form blood-shot veins, the veins as black as a raven's feather and Tsukasa felt fear. She believed that she was holding the hand of a stranger, immediately prompting her to let go and slowly back away.

Everyone watched with confusion at the youngest twin's sudden change in persona and when Kagami slowly stood from her chair and looked at everyone with eyes that made everyone gasp, she twitched several times until she slowly turned and they feared she was about to make a break for the door. Instead, Kagami approached another wall where more picture frames of the twins' history together were kept alive in the frozen images. Kagami stopped and stared at one of the pictures, which was of her, Tsukasa, Konata, and Miyuki together in Kyoto in front of the Kyoto Animation building. She tilted her head at the picture and stared lifelessly at it until Konata slowly rose from her chair and tiptoed towards Kagami to help recreate the class trip for her.

"Remember that trip, Kagamin?" Konata asked weakly. "It was another one of those times where you didn't understand me or my interests…but at the same time you still went along with it. You went along with it because you truly are that good of a friend that you care about what your friends like and want over your own wants."

Kagami slowly raised her hand and took the framed picture off and held it before her. With an unusual and even disturbingly calm voice despite the situation she was in, Kagami replied, "That was an interesting trip, Konata. Please come closer to me so we can look at it together."

Konata formed a small grin and complied and came closer. As Kagami kept her back turned to the blue-haired girl, it all went horribly awry. When Konata was close enough, Kagami suddenly spun around to show her burning eyes, hoisted the frame up high, and thrust it downward. The glass frame shattered on Konata's head and before anyone could react, Kagami followed it up by slapping Konata across the head with the wooden frame, cutting her head open and Konata tripped and fell to the floor in her attempt to escape.

The intervention was sent into an uproar as everyone rushed to assist Konata and Tsukasa started screaming and crying loudly as Kagami backed up. When Konata saw her head was bleeding slightly from the violent assault, her only response was to look up at Kagami and join Tsukasa in crying while Hiyori and Patty helped her to her feet.

"You worthless, spineless motherfuckers! You think you can fix everything that is fucked up in my life and erase the guilt I feel for Matsuri and Kusakabe with therapy and rehab centers?! I said it before and I'll say it again! None of you understand me! You're all dead to me! I don't need you! I don't need anyone or anything unless I can shoot it or smoke it!" Kagami screamed her violent drug-fueled temper out as everyone backed up, fearing she would attack. "This fucking little intervention is a crock of shit! Way to help me, Konata! It's a good thing your mother is dead because she would tell you how much of a failure you are! Get out of my life! All of you!"

Kagami abruptly turned and dashed out the door as everyone else refused to follow her for fear of another violent confrontation. Tsukasa however had finally reached her breaking point. With her eyes spewing water, she quickly rose to her feet and to everyone's astonishment, she dashed down the hallway after Kagami while screaming her name. Dr. Kishimoto feared the youngest Hiiragi was reaching a point of no return and she ordered everyone to help Tsukasa. Still rubbing her bleeding head, Konata was still one of the first ones to rush out despite Kagami's violent words and actions to her.

Kagami blew the door open where Patty first led her through and she was once again out on the streets and began stomping down the sidewalk. She continued to pant in everlasting rage and hatred at what just happened and her anger spiked when she heard the door swing open again from behind her and heard her sister's desperate words call out to her.

"Kagami, please! Don't do this! All I ever wanted to do was help you!" Tsukasa cried as she pursued her stone-cold sister. "I love you so much that I don't know what I would do without you! Only you can protect me from everything scary in the world!"

The enraged twin-tailed Hiiragi didn't slow down or even turn her head to look at Tsukasa. The only thing on her mind was escaping the ones she viewed as enemies when she barked, "I don't give a fuck what you say or think, Tsukasa! Grow up already and learn how to take care of yourself and quit being such a goddamn baby all the fucking time!"

"I'm not being a baby, sis, I'm just scared! I don't want to be all needy and everything all the time but I can't help it! I'm needy and I'm an air-head as you called me before because I'm just scared of everything but I always had you with me so I never showed it since I knew I was safe!" Tsukasa wailed again as she kept following close behind Kagami as the rest of the intervention participants finally made it outside and watched the heart-breaking scene of Tsukasa losing her hero. "Remember when we were little girls and I was literally afraid of my own shadow one day?! I was crying because that dark thing wouldn't stop following me but when you took my hand and walked with me, I knew even back then that everything was going to be okay!"

Kagami suddenly halted in her tracks, making Tsukasa freeze as well and she folded her hands together as her knees buckled and she cried. The twin-tailed girl slowly turned to Tsukasa and leered at her with her angry eyes again and hissed, "Everything is not okay anymore, Tsukasa. I know that I'm throwing my life away by doing what I'm doing but I don't care anymore. I heard each and everyone one of you pathetic dicks in there and let me say I don't want it. I don't want to be anyone's hero anymore. I don't want people to look up to me or look to me for leadership anymore. I don't want to be a role model for anyone anymore. I'm neither your idol nor your sister anymore so just forget about all of it. Get a life of your own and leave me to mine. To think…you really were _this_ easily replaceable…and with drugs no less. Now goodbye, Tsukasa Hiiragi."

As Kagami turned and started walking again, it was all Tsukasa could take. She couldn't bear the indescribable pain of listening to her sister confirm her worst fears by saying she was expendable and eighteen years of bonding, memories, love, attention, and presumed happiness were all so easily swept away like dust in the wind. Tsukasa let more tears rush out of her eyes and she didn't know what to do anymore. Kagami was telling her to go against her natural instincts by forgetting about her, tearing the youngest Hiiragi daughter in half over what to do. She wanted to obey her sister as she always did without question in the past…but these new orders were killing her inside.

Tsukasa dove forward in her final attempt at keeping Kagami in her life and landed on the cold cement of the sidewalk while wrapping her arms around Kagami's thinning legs and she screamed and cried more loudly than anyone had ever heard before. Tsukasa kept venting her anguish when she cried, "Sis, please! Don't do this! Don't leave me alone! I need you! Only you can protect me! I beg of you, don't leave me here like this!"

Tsukasa began coughing and hacking in the midst of her meltdown as everyone could only watch and some slowly began to approach. Konata and Miyuki joined forces as they approached the two separated twins as Kagami began to wedge herself free. She didn't turn to attack her sister but in a sense did something much worse. Kagami was hell-bent on abandoning her and it showed when she finally escaped Tsukasa's grip, making the youngest twin sit up and continue crying alone on the sidewalk. Her wails of a broken heart echoed throughout the area, attracting some onlookers but they didn't want to get involved as they had a feeling it had something to do with drugs, which was just the norm of the Aku District.

Konata and Miyuki arrived at Tsukasa's side and they bent down to her as she couldn't halt her tears. Tsukasa looked up and saw her twin sister disappear around a street corner and she couldn't help but lift her arms up and pointed them down the desolate street where Kagami disappeared. Tsukasa's heart-breaking display resembled a lost child reaching out for its mother while the youngest Hiiragi girl continued to cry.

"Tsukasa-san…we tried." Miyuki whispered while unable to hold the water in her eyes as she held her ailing friend's shoulder. "I'm sorry…but your sister has made her choice."

Tsukasa lowered her hands from her eyes and looked up at the pink-haired girl and showed her a face of endless devastation. Never in Miyuki's life did she ever believe that such a gut-wrenching face could be made but regrettably it was and to make matters worse, it was the most innocent and purest member of the Hiiragi family who was making it. Tsukasa continued to drip water from her eyes as she sniffed and trembled with swollen eyes and she turned back to look down the empty street.

"…I…I…I want…Kagami…!" She screamed again and Konata and Miyuki glanced up at each other while Tsukasa continued to cry.

As everyone watched from afar, Konata pulled Miyuki away from Tsukasa and said, "Do you have any plans for tonight?"

Miyuki shook her head with a bit of confusion. "No…why?"

"I was thinking…Tsukasa is a wreck and she needs to be surrounded by people who love her tonight. I was thinking that you and I could spend the night at her place if it's okay with her family because I myself won't feel satisfied until we can calm her down." Konata whispered.

Miyuki nodded. "I agree, Konata-san. I'll go ask her parents and you just keep talking to her."

The two girls broke apart and put their plans into action. While Miyuki began to console and bring Tsukasa's parents up to speed and ask their permission to spend the night, Konata returned to Tsukasa's side and hugged her. Tsukasa wasted no time in returning the soft gesture and sobbed into Konata's chest as the blue-haired girl stroked her friend's head. Though Konata never saw it before, she had a relatively easy life up until now. She was never dealt a hand that was this horrid and shocking that it too made her want to join Tsukasa on the sidewalk in crying her eyes out while screaming for Kagami to return.

With the intervention ending in failure, nobody knew the utterly devastating and truly frightening fate that Kagami had just created for herself. She had walked away from her only chance at salvation and to be saved from the infinite wickedness of Yuka Miyakawa and Ryuji Katsumoto. The twin-tailed girl still had no comprehension of the true depths of their insanity and depravity and how little they truly valued human life. All of those concepts about the evil cousins was regrettably about to become a norm in the newly chosen life of Kagami Hiiragi. If she thought that feeling guilty over Matsuri's and Misao's deaths were unbearable without the drugs, one could only imagine how she would feel when she would eventually add murder, torture, and many other crimes to her resume of disaster all as a result of Kagami's string puller, Yuka Miyakawa.

As Kagami huffed down the street, the raging high she was feeling was making her sweat and pant and even giggle a bit as a result of its maddening potency. Feeling that the she was in the clear, the twin-tailed girl stomped back towards the place she considered home in Miyakawa's apartment. As she huffed though, a familiar voice called to her.

"All they wanted to do was help you, Hiiragi." The female voice said.

Kagami turned behind her and saw Misao Kusakabe walking behind her, prompting Kagami to turn again and speed up while replying, "I can't hear you, Kusakabe, because you're not there!"

"We knew this intervention would fail…but please don't fail Tsukasa." Another female voice called.

Kagami looked over her shoulder again and saw Matsuri walking alongside Misao. Becoming more flustered, Kagami kept rushing away. "Leave me alone! Tsukasa will be fine! She just needs to grow up!"

"Protect her, Kagami. Protect her from Yuka Miyakawa. The devil you're sleeping with won't stop until our little sister's blood runs in the streets…and she'll use you to do it." Matsuri warned.

"And remember, Hiiragi. Your oldest sister only has love in her heart when you'll promise to get clean…but your heart is tainted by greed and deception. Don't betray Inori. Heed our warnings, Hiiragi. If you betray Inori the way we see it…they'll never take you back. All your friends and family will turn their backs on you forever." Misao added.

"Fuck you all!" Kagami screamed and sprinted as hard as she could until the voices of her departed loved ones faded into the wind once again.

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Kagami had plenty of stories to tell Miyakawa and her cousin upon her return to the apartment of the damned. The rogue Hiiragi told Miyakawa everything about the intervention and how pissed off she was regarding it…and ultimately her response to Konata. Miyakawa was nothing short of overjoyed, though she didn't show it outwardly. It proved once and for all that her experiment on Kagami had worked and that her homemade drug was a success after all. It also told Miyakawa that it seemed to hit and miss in the beginning because she wasn't using a high enough dosage of it. Miyakawa planned to inject more of it into Kagami eventually but it wouldn't be for tonight. Kagami and Miyakawa had a dance routine they were planning on doing at Teasers later that night as a duet.

To kill time before their show later tonight, Kagami and her lowlife friends stayed in Miyakawa's apartment and got stoned. Miyakawa however was able to maintain a sense of normalcy despite the fact that her cousin and Kagami couldn't even stand anymore. As they sat in her apartment with toxic clouds of crack cocaine smoke hovering above them, Miyakawa crawled over to Kagami who rested on the floor with her back leaning against the couch.

The sinister girl collected Kagami and held the groggy twin-tailed girl in her lap and began to rock her while furthering her experiment on Kagami. She hummed for Kagami and kissed her on the head before she whispered, "They hate you, you know."

Kagami slowly looked up with blood-shot eyes. "Who hates me?"

"Everyone at that intervention today. They all hate you." Miyakawa whispered again. "These so-called friends of yours…they're laughing at you behind your back and trying to destroy you. Why else would they try and take you away from not only me, but also your drugs?"

Kagami glanced away. "They think they know what's best for me. They've always been like this. They try to mask their desire to control and manipulate me with love. I saw today that my parents are nothing but puppeteers and I'm finally free of their strings. They still want me to be their 'perfect' daughter and they still don't get me. To think…I almost fell for Miyuki's words in her intervention letter when she said that she wouldn't be able to take her prissy little ass to France without me getting clean or that it was our respect for academics that bounded us together."

Miyakawa giggled lightly. "Don't worry my dear…I get you. Now…tell me a bit about these animals you call your former friends. Tell me about this Miyuki girl."

Kagami rolled her eyes. "Don't get me started, Yuka. She's one of these girls where it just seems that everything aligns over their perfect little fucking heads. She's pampered and out of all of them is probably the one that doesn't know the most about me. She's been shielded by this perfect little bubble of perfection; the kind that I always wanted when I was in school but there was always one little flaw I had that she didn't that always drove me fucking insane."

Miyakawa smiled again as she could literally feel the rage from her drug still controlling Kagami so she decided to do what she did best; fan the flames. "Why don't you do something about it?"

Kagami looked up. "Like what?"

"Teach her a lesson. You told me that she's a bitchy little bookworm…so I say you put her through your own little crash course of study. Maybe a course that's a little more…_hands-on_…if you catch my drift, Kagami." Miyakawa said with a conniving smile. "Make her your own bitch…because Kagami…once you truly know the power of having control over another human's life…the rush is greater than drugs and sex combined. Knowing that a person's life is in your hand and you get to take your time and slowly squeeze it to death as they scream and cry for mercy…it's the greatest aphrodisiac."

Kagami tightened her glare. "I have these…thoughts…Yuka, that some would interpret as very bad when I think of Miyuki know."

"Then express them, Kagami. Find this Miyuki girl…hunt her down…and fuck her up." Miyakawa whispered and bit Kagami's ear gently. "The rush you will feel when you shed her blood…"

Kagami could feel her body temperature rising as the hot breath of Yuka Miyakawa blew through her hair. This girl's words and tone penetrated deep into Kagami's brain and every time she was this close, the twin-tailed girl felt a powerful rush. The fact that Miyakawa still had no sense of restraint or boundaries was still a foreign concept to Kagami and that was exactly why it turned her on. This girl was able to live life in the fast lane with no regrets and Kagami was mistaken in her belief that she had not lived a single day until she met Miyakawa.

Kagami looked up again. "Yuka…take me now."

Miyakawa let Kagami lay on the floor and the sociopath rolled on top of Kagami and began kissing her deeply. As they undressed themselves, Miyakawa was able to pry Kagami's skirt off and was met with surprise when she saw the red rash below her navel. She called Kagami out on it but to Miyakawa's further happiness, Kagami told her she forgot all about it. In fact, Kagami went into details about how she suddenly remembered that she went to a health clinic at all to get it tested before she was led to the intervention. After the intervention, Kagami's rage attack caused another side effect that told Miyakawa her experiment was working. The drug was able to cause short-term memory loss. If anything, Kagami also probably forgot about her violent assault on Konata. This of course was going to lead Miyakawa to up the dosage and whenever Kagami had her next rage attack, it would make the one on Konata seem like a child's tantrum. To make matters worse, Kagami was going to be injected with this drug with hostile and violent thoughts against Miyuki Takara in her head and Miyakawa was only fanning those flames to make them bigger.

Later that night at Teasers, Ryuji and Itou Shiraki discussed the seriousness of what they were getting themselves into with the drug trade while the energy at the club was bouncing. While Itou worked the bar, Ryuji sat at it and laid out all their issues for their boss. It seemed that they were in bigger trouble than they anticipated. Ryuji's enforcement of their drugs in the streets combined with Yuka Miyakawa's bloodlust and insanity made them high-valued targets and there were now bounties on their heads and anyone who associated themselves with them. Consequently, this also included Kagami Hiiragi. It was only a matter of time until something would happen and one single incident could turn this powder keg into a nuclear detonation of gratuitous and sadistic-wanting violence. All for ultimate control over the streets, something Miyakawa dreamed of having ever since she was raped; to have control back.

While Ryuji continued to deliver the tensing news, Miyakawa was once again living without fear as it was time for their show. The strobe and flashing lights began to focus on the center stage again as Yuka Miyakawa and Kagami Hiiragi stood back-to-back wearing nothing but black combat boots, camouflaged short-shorts, camouflaged tops that barely covered their breasts, and camouflaged military caps while a new song blasted throughout the club. The two girls walked down the catwalk towards the center pole with microphones in-hand and readied themselves to sing the lyrics to their song, "Daughters of Darkness" by Halestorm.

"We came to battle baby! We came to win the war! We won't surrender till we get what we're looking for!" Miyakawa sang.

"We're blowing out our speakers! There goes the neighborhood! A little scissor happy, little misunderstood!" Kagami sang with Miyakawa as they danced around the pole in a synchronized routine that started to make it rain money at their feet once again.

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While the anarchic and depraved lifestyle of Kagami Hiiragi continued to consume her, her family and friends were once again left behind to pick up the pieces of her destructive persona. This time however, it was much worse because Kagami broke something even more treasured and valuable than household furniture. She broke Tsukasa Hiiragi's heart. Even though Tsukasa felt like such a failure, she still didn't feel alone because two of her best friends were with her in her room later that night. Konata and Miyuki were granted permission to spend the night in their home to give comfort to Tsukasa.

Miyuki returned to Tsukasa's room with a tray holding three cups of steaming tea and found Konata and Tsukasa sitting around her table in the middle of the room. Tsukasa was holding another stuffed animal to her chest and leaked a fresh tear into it every now and then. It was one of the only plush dolls that wasn't confiscated by the police for having drugs stashed inside it.

"I took the liberty of making this especially for you, Tsukasa-san." Miyuki said softly and placed the cup of tea in front of her.

The youngest Hiiragi daughter slowly took it and looked into the steaming green liquid. She could see her reflection in its wake until another tear fell from her eyes and splashed in it, turning her reflection into a rippled effect that vanished within the depressing ambiance of her bedroom. Regardless, Tsukasa sniffed twice until she took a small sip of the tea and placed it back on the table.

"Thank you, Yuki-chan." Tsukasa whispered. "And thank you…for staying with me tonight. I just don't want to be alone tonight."

Konata scooted closer to Tsukasa and pulled her close. The blue-haired girl allowed Tsukasa to rest her head on her petite shoulder while still struggling to hold herself together. "Its okay, Tsukasa. We _wanted_ to stay here tonight. You're our best friend and we care about you."

Hearing this sincere sentiment only made Tsukasa's emotions deepen as she pulled out of Konata's embrace and sat on her knees. "I'm…I'm sorry that today…that today didn't…work out. I thought that we…we could've helped her. I thought that…I could've helped her."

Tsukasa covered her face again and wept, earning a gentle pat on the shoulders from Miyuki. "Now, now, Tsukasa-san, what happened today wasn't your fault. You did your best and we all pulled our own weight but in the end, Kagami-san made a choice, just as you said in your letter."

"Listen to her, Tsukasa. You were great today and you were very inspirational to us all." Konata added.

Tsukasa sighed as she took more tears away from her reddened cheek. "I just…wish that I was brave and strong. I hate being like this all the time now. I don't want to…keep crying all the time. I…I don't want to be seen as the little sister or the weakest link anymore. I just want to be brave and strong like my parents or Inori…or Matsuri."

Miyuki sighed. "But Tsukasa-san, don't you see? You are strong and you are brave. If anything, I believe that you were the strongest and the bravest out of all of us today."

Tsukasa sniffed again and looked at Miyuki with her red and puffy eyes. "What do you mean, Yuki-chan?"

"Remember when Kagami-san took that picture of us and hit Konata-san with it?" Miyuki asked.

Tsukasa nodded.

"While all of us were panicking and crying when Kagami-san left, you were the only one who ran after her to try and save her. The rest of us weren't following Kagami-san, we were following you." Miyuki added with a slight smile.

Koanta picked up on what Miyuki was trying to do and joined in. "That's true. While everyone was helping me, everyone was also staying on guard for fear of Kagami attacking the rest of us. But you…you refused to give up. You refused to let the darkness take your sister so you stood and faced the unknown and chased after her. Kagami could've hurt you out there but you still wouldn't give up. That was true strength and bravery, Tsukasa. You really are the bravest out of all of us."

Tsukasa sniffed again and looked back at Miyuki, who deepened her smile and nodded. Feeling the love of her two closest friends, Tsukasa became teary again when she was finally able to smile from all the support and she started crying again. Miyuki pulled her close and held Tsukasa in her lap and began rocking the ailing girl gently like a mother rocking her newborn.

In the midst of Tsukasa's tears, Miyuki whispered, "Tsukasa-san…I've been practicing my French a lot in anticipation for my trip and I learned how to fluently sing this lullaby. May I sing it to you?"

Tsukasa sniffed a few times until she nodded while snuggling deeper into Miyuki's warm and loving touch.

Miyuki smiled and nodded as Konata watched with intrigue. "It's called 'A La Claire Fontaine' and it means 'By the Clear Fountain.'"

With her sweet and maternal voice that would make every songbird in the world jealous of her beautiful serenade, Miyuki sang gently for Tsukasa while rocking her gently in her arms.

_La Claire fountaine _

_M'en allant promener_

_J'ai trouv l'eau si belle_

_Que je m'y suis baign_

_Il y a longtemps que je t'aime_

_Jamias je ne t'oublierai_

_Sous les feuilles de chne_

_Je me suis fait scher _

_Sur la plau haute branche_

_Le rossignol chantait _

_Il y a longtemps que je t'aime_

_Jamias je ne t'oublierai_

_C'est pour mon ami Pierre_

_Qui ne veut plus m'amier _

_Pour un bouton de rose_

_Que je lui refusai _

_Il y a longtemps que je t'aime_

_Jamias je ne t'oublierai_

_J'ai perdu mon ami_

_Sans l'avoir mrit _

_Pour un bouquet de roses_

_Que je lui refusai _

_Il y a longtemps que je t'aime_

_Jamias je ne t'oublierai_

Miyuki Takara took a deep breath upon finishing her song and looked down. Tsukasa had fallen asleep in her arms as she continued to rock the Hiiragi girl, making the pink-haired girl giggle quietly. She looked up at Konata, who couldn't take her eyes off the scene. Konata wasn't crying, but her green eyes were flooded with deep emotional sentiment, as if she had witnessed the most beautiful and innocent scene in her entire life.

"How was it, Konata-san? Was that what you call…_moe_?" She asked.

Still filled with emotional euphoria, Konata sighed and replied with a small and sincere smile, "No Miyuki-san, that wasn't moe. That was just beautiful."

**A/N: Don't know how accurate the lyrics to the song are. My French isn't as good as the other languages I can speak but either way I hope it was good!**


	29. Chapter 29

CHAPTER 28

A sudden clap of thunder made Kagami jump violently in her bed. The massive noise abruptly awoke her from her slumber and she growled to herself in frustration. She never liked to be awakened by such blunt noises and assumed a storm was on its way to the Aku District as she tossed in Miyakawa's bed. The bed suddenly felt harder and colder but she didn't care and just wanted to fall asleep again. She suddenly felt a cold drop of water strike her face, followed by another, and then another. Before she knew it, hundreds of tiny drops began to strike her face as she could hear the large rainstorm arrive.

Kagami slowly lifted her eyes and felt the cold water continue to splash her face until her settings cleared and she panicked. She realized she was resting on a cold wooden bench attached to a stone brick wall. A small window covered by iron bars was slowly letting the raindrops fall into the room and land on her, making Kagami sit up and when she saw where she was, she wanted to scream. The twin-tailed girl was in a dungeon that appeared to be from the medieval era as the stone walls, iron bars, and chains with some rusted shackles attached to them hanging from the walls illustrated.

She could feel the heat and humidity from the dank and moldy chamber constrict her sinuses and make it hard to breathe as flies zipped past her head while she tried to make sense of how she ended up here. The last thing she remembered was dancing with Miyakawa at Teasers, they went back to her apartment, Miyakawa injected a black drug into her body that she said was black tar heroin, and then nothing.

Kagami looked to her left and couldn't hold it in anymore. She screamed loudly when she saw a dead and decomposing human body resting on the floor with a severed arm. The arm was still in a shackle attached to a chain above the body but that wasn't the worst part. Aside from the rotting flesh and flies swarming around the decayed head, Kagami saw the entire torso of the body was open and large rats had turned it into their nest and were feasting on the innards. She kept screaming as she dashed for the iron door of her prison cell and started shaking the bars.

"Let me out! Let me out! Let me out!" She screamed over and over again. "Can anybody hear me?! Get me the fuck out of here now!"

As the twin-tailed girl continued her violent and desperate attempts to free herself from her macabre cell, the rusted bolts on the prison door finally broke off and the massive iron door fell. Kagami was in the midst of her panic attack and didn't know the door was pulling her down with it until it was too late. The metal door landed on the brick floor with a mighty crash but Kagami wasted no time in making her escape.

She dashed down a long corridor with wooden torches hanging from the stone brick wall on her left while more prison cell doors lined the wall to her right. As she panted and ran with desperate vigor, skeleton arms reached out through the bars and tried to grab Kagami. Moans and groans of indescribable agony followed from the pitch darkness of the cells while Kagami continued to run while trying to avoid their deathly grips and attempts at snatching her. Some of the skeletal arms were still wrapped in shards of clothing while others still had decomposing flesh on them and Kagami neared a stone staircase that would take her up to a wooden door and hopefully salvation.

Kagami dashed up the stairs and grabbed hold of the iron doorknob and tried to push it down but her heart sped up when she found the door to be locked. In the midst of the groaning from the skeletal prisoners behind her, she could hear the pitter patter of thousands of little feet rushing towards her and Kagami turned her head. She screamed again when she saw tens of thousands of rats with burning red eyes rushing down the dark corridor with her in their sights.

As they began to make their way up the stairs, Kagami kept screaming and pounding on the door with all her might until the knob turned on its own and she pushed the door open. It didn't matter to Kagami that she stepped out onto a balcony in a massive thunderstorm and instantly became drenched. She quickly spun and saw the thousands of dirty animals jump for her bearing their rotten yellow fangs until she slammed the door shut. The angry squeaks of the enraged animals could be heard through the door but began to fade until they were gone and Kagami was alone on the balcony.

Kagami turned and faced her new setting and saw she was standing on the stone balcony in the middle of the torrential downpour and bolts of lightning crossed the sky, followed by deafening claps of thunder. She stared out into the blackened landscape before her and saw thousands of burning lights below her like a city. Kagami discovered she was standing on the balcony of the Notre Dame Church in Paris as the familiar structure clicked in her mind from history courses in school. She glanced around as she shivered in the rainstorm and saw gargoyle statues lining the balcony's edge. Feeling a massive chill run down her spine from the cold, another run ran down her back when she heard a new and disturbing sound.

"Kagami…" A voice whispered her name in the midst of the storm.

The frightened girl looked around anxiously for the source of the noise but she was still alone on the balcony with the gargoyles.

"Over here, baby." Another voice, only female this time whispered and Kagami saw two gargoyles moving their heads slightly as they watched the activity below.

Kagami slowly approached them in hopes of an explanation of what was happening around her and when the two gargoyles turned their heads, she saw two familiar faces. She uttered their names through her freezing voice. "Ryuji…? Yuka…?"

The two gargoyles had demon bodies with wings and demon faces with features that matched Kagami's two evil friends. The female gargoyle giggled and replied, "In the flesh, sweetheart. Well, more or less."

"What's happening here, Yuka?!" Kagami cried.

"It's the revolution, my dear. The world around us is burning and we will be victorious." Miyakawa replied with a grin.

"You better hurry, Kagami. Your family is in real trouble." Ryuji replied. "The enemies of your Miko world have your parents and will execute them soon."

Kagami gasped while covering her mouth with her hands. "Where are they?! Tell me where they are!"

Before either of her gargoyle friends could reply, another deafening noise rattled Kagami's eardrums. The massive bells of the Notre Dame Church banged and their rings echoed all across the drenched city. The bells tolled three times and the two gargoyles looked at each other and started laughing.

"It's three am, Yuka, and you know what that means." Ryuji said with a creepy smile.

Miyakawa was reaping in the most pleasure from this news as she laughed. "Yes, dear cousin, I do. It's the demonic witching hour, which means it's our time to take flight and wreak havoc on the innocent. Come Ryuji, let's take flight and mock the Holy Trinity."

As the two gargoyles began to spread their wings, Kagami stopped them. "Wait, where are you guys going?! You need to tell me where my family is!"

Miyakawa sighed. "Oh Kagami, we talked about this last night. If you want to save your family, you must kill the pink-haired one. Good luck to you, baby."

The two stone statues spread their wings and began to flap them. Kagami shielded her eyes from the gravel and dirt they were kicking up until the two demons took flight and gained altitude. As they got higher and higher, Kagami still needed further instruction on how to find her family before they would be executed. She still had no idea where she was but that detail was considered trivial now that she knew her parents about to die.

"Wait! What do I do?!" Kagami called as she cried.

"Even the most perilous of quests begin with simply retracing your steps, my baby!" Miyakawa's voice called and the two gargoyles disappeared into the raining sky.

Kagami tried to think. She looked around the balcony and the only way she could get down was through the same door she just came through. Of course, an army of demonic rats was waiting for her on the other side. Did Miyakawa instruct Kagami to go back through that same door? It couldn't be that simple. Kagami looked over the ledge of the balcony and she could've jumped, but it would be at least a one hundred story plummet into darkness. She had to go back through the door.

The twin-tailed girl gulped and began to tiptoe back to the door as she continued to shiver and tremble from the freezing rain drenching her. She grasped the door handle and gulped. As she slowly opened it, another bolt of lightning streaked across the sky and was abruptly followed by another thunder clap, making Kagami scream and slam the door shut again. She tried to calm herself by breathing deeply until she gulped again and slowly opened the door, expecting to be mauled by the infinite vile rodents.

As soon as Kagami opened the door, the entire setting that once stood on the other side had changed. To her astonishment, the dungeon she just escaped from was gone. The only thing before her was a spiraling staircase with more torches held to the walls that illuminated the vertical climb. Desperate to get out of the cold, Kagami quickly stormed into the shelter and closed the door behind her. She grabbed one of the wooden torches and began ascending the staircase. It once again was deafly quiet aside from her steps echoing loudly across the tubular structure she was climbing up. She passed more torches burning in their iron holders attached to the stone brick walls and kept walking upward still trying to figure out if she was truly in Paris and if so, what did Miyakawa mean when she said that it was the revolution? Was it the French Revolution? Had Kagami truly traveled back more than two hundred years ago?

As Kagami made it her first quarter of the way, the unexpected began to happen. The inside of the stone structure began to rumble like an earthquake and she quickly knelt to knees to remain balanced. She could suddenly hear cackling laughs in the darkness and the stone walls surrounding her began to shift. Kagami screamed her lungs dry when hundreds of giant eyeballs opened and stared at her, all with iris's that glowed red with black veins and some that formed into the number 666. The wooden door at the bottom level suddenly blew into splinters and a violent freezing wind rushed in and chilled her to the core.

As the giant eyes continued to stare at her, she heard an endless shrieking at the bottom level and suddenly, millions of cockroaches began rushing into tubular structure and began flooding it. It was only a matter of time until the insects would reach Kagami, which prompted her to start running and panicking again. The structure continued to shake and the cackling laughs continued as the eyeballs staring at Kagami now seemed to form perfect horizontal lines across the middle of the eyes and the eyeballs opened like mouths, revealing thousands of razor teeth inside with forked tongues made of chains.

The strangest of creatures began fluttering out of the eyeballs turned fang-filled mouths. Skulls with bat wings fluttered out while laughing a high-pitch chuckle at Kagami. They were followed by smaller eyeballs using fishtails attached to their backs to fly. Octopus tentacles also emerged from the open mouths and tried to pursue Kagami as she kept running and screaming up the seemingly endless staircase.

As she kept running up the staircase, the structure holding her up that she dashed on also began to mutate. The staircase turned from a solid stone structure into a twisted thorn bush branch, the thorns serving as unstable steps that cracked every time Kagami's foot struck one. Some fell away when she kicked off one to the next, only increasing her panic and fear that at any second she would fall into the pit of cockroaches that still pursued her. Her sweat drenched her face and clothing as to her relief she approached the top of the staircase and the wooden door. The cockroaches continued to pour into the tubular structure and ascend the walls and approach her.

She finally arrived at the door and turned the knob and pushed with all her might. To her blast of sensational relief, the door quickly swung open and she tore into the next room and slammed the door behind her just as she felt one of the cockroaches land on her shoulder. Still screaming her lungs out, she grabbed it, threw it to the floor, and squashed it underneath her boot onto a luxurious red velvet carpet. When she removed her boot, she saw the dead insect begin to smoke until it suddenly burst into flames and burned into ashes that quickly scattered into thin air.

Kagami was free from yet another horrifying scene and as she continued to shake and tremble while crying from the post-traumatic fear, she was finally able to take a deep breath and be able to truly absorb her surroundings. It was nothing short of lavishing and beautiful, a complete polar opposite of the horrors she had escaped from. She stood in a very spacious corridor with walls made of glistening marble and large portraits of former leaders and military generals draped in red velvet curtains with gold trim. Vases decorated with jewels also stood on stone pillars. The floor's tile was also reflecting the diamond chandeliers hanging from the ceiling while another red velvet carpet also covered the middle of the floor.

Still hell-bent on finding her parents, Kagami was torn on which direction to go. She suddenly heard voices coming from a room down one direction of the corridor and it was also complemented by a violin playing a relaxing song. It was an ominous feeling considering where Kagami had just come from and she had a sinking feeling she was about to be in for more shock and even horror but for now those voices were the only signs of life so she decided to investigate. As she walked down the lavishing corridor, something abruptly caught her eyes hanging from the wall.

She spotted a portrait of her father in a king's dazzling wardrobe. Right next to Tadao Hiiragi's image was one of Miki Hiiragi, dressed as a queen and was also very stunning in her dress and natural looks. Right below Tadao's portrait however was a gold plaque with the name "Louis XVI of France" and directly under Miki's image was another sparkling plaque that stated "Marie Antoinette" as her name. Kagami was not only more confused, but she was scared now more than ever. These two names belonged to the last two monarchs of France before they were executed by guillotine in the year 1793 during the French Revolution. She remembered this from Nanako Kuroi's class.

Kagami dashed forward until she entered an even more stunning dining room where she saw seven people at a very lengthy dinner table. As Kagami approached them, she was surprised to see Yuka Miyakawa standing at the head of the table with a goblet in her hand and she was dressed in a tuxedo, a wardrobe that somehow didn't seem appropriate for the end of the 18th Century. As Kagami approached, she gulped when she saw a violin hovering in thin air and playing the tunes. Crosses and crucifixes also hung on the walls all around them but they dangled upside-down.

Miyakawa looked up from her dinner guests and smiled at Kagami. "Ah, the guest of honor has arrived. Please have a seat and join us for dinner, Kagami."

It was when Kagami saw Miyakawa's dinner guests that she realized she may have died and was sent to Hell. To Miyakawa's right sat Inori and Tsukasa Hiiragi. Inori's face was beaten to a bloody pulp with two black eyes, a bruised and bloodied lip, and marks of physical abuse all around her. Her top was also torn and stained around her breasts. Tsukasa's condition however was what made Kagami shriek. Her little sister's face was painted white with black eye shadow that covered her eye sockets and her cheeks had a red swirling pattern also painted on them. Her mouth was also covered by a red ball gag and Tsukasa was crying her eyes out. Her left bicep was also wrapped in a bandage that had a large red spot of fresh blood on it.

Kagami dashed to her little sister and removed the gag from her mouth and hugged her tightly while also crying. "Tsukasa…good god…what happened to you?!"

"Sis…why did you fail me? Why didn't you protect me?" Tsukasa whimpered, prompting Kagami to discontinue her hug and look into her sister's weeping eyes. "Why did you let Miyakawa-san do all those horrible things to me? And then you…scarred me for life…personally. Why, Kagami, why?"

"Tsukasa, I…I…" Kagami stuttered through her tears until she turned back to Miyakawa. "Why are you here, Yuka?! I just saw you outside! And why did you do this to her?!"

Miyakawa giggled. "I believe your late sister once referred to me as a shape shifter…and that's exactly what I am. I come in many different forms. Sometimes I'm the girl who you do drugs with and have sex with. Sometimes I'm just the main ingredient to your worst nightmare…but most of all, I am the cause of everything that is evil in the world…"

Before Kagami could reply, Inori added her weakened voice.

"Kagami…why did you betray me like that? Why did you deceive me? You said you needed my help. I wanted to help you…but you led me into that trap. Why, Kagami, why?" Inori groaned in agony.

"Inori…I didn't do anything!" Kagami cried and turned her attention to Miyakawa, who took a sip from her goblet. "Yuka! What did you do to them?!"

Miyakawa shrugged. "Believe it or not, Kagami, I didn't do any of this. You did."

Kagami retorted with a broken and perplexed look.

"I did however do this to your other friends, whom you haven't said hello to yet which I find very rude for such a civilized setting we're in." Miyakawa scolded and allowed Kagami to see the two other dinner guests.

Kagami looked and saw the long blue-hair of Konata Izumi with her face resting on the table and the orange hair of Ayano Minegishi also resting and covering its owner's head. The twin-tailed Hiiragi screamed once again when she saw a large medieval axe was buried into the back of Ayano's head and her body was pale and lifeless.

Kagami sprinted over and could see her friend was dead from the axe and she could only scream and cry as she moved to Konata. She only had to shake Konata twice until the short girl's body shifted and revealed a slash in her neck that went as deep as the back of her neck and it was still oozing blood. Konata too was dead and bleeding at the dinner table. The twin-tailed Hiiragi screamed again when she saw how deep Konata's throat was cut and she held her hand over her mouth to stop herself from vomiting.

"Now, now, Kagami, throwing up at a dinner party…that isn't very classy for a girl like you." Miyakawa said with a giggle and drank a little more from her silver goblet.

"You…you did this to them! I should kill you!" Kagami screamed at Yuka.

"I was only carrying out my orders, sweetheart. From the High Executioner." Miyakawa replied. "If you have a grievance with it perhaps you should talk to the executioner yourself, but I would hurry if I were you. The High Executioner is about to behead the former king and his wife."

Kagami suddenly remembered the portraits in the corridor. Her mother and father. "Where are they?!" She cried.

Yuka made a gesture with her arm holding the goblet to one of the windows. Kagami dashed to the window and saw a new setting before her eyes. Below her in the courtyard of the church was a large gathering of people dressed in hooded cloaks holding torches, pitchforks, and scythes. They were gathered around a large platform with two guillotine structures and Kagami could see a person standing next to them dressed in a black cloak with a black mask concealing their identity and Kagami assumed this person was the executioner. What made Kagami scream yet again was when she saw her mother and father struggling with their captors as they pushed them up the stairs on the platform and to the guillotines.

Kagami disregarded everyone and everything bizarre in the dining room and dashed out as Miyakawa began laughing and she took another sip from her goblet, allowing a red liquid to drip over the side of her mouth. Kagami ran strong and hard and eventually made it outside and into the night where the ghastly rainstorm had stopped and she was now in a scene of twisted horrors.

Thousands of skeletons littered the ground she ran on, some with swords imbedded in ribcages while wooden spikes seemed to have sprouted up from under the ground and also held skulls and other bones. The night sky above her had cleared and she could see the glowing moon, which also had shadows of a skull around it with bat wings. The clouds above also formed into faces of demonic creatures as Kagami continued to press forward and into the crowd of cloaked beings. She screamed her parents names, drawing attention to herself and Kagami finally collided with one of the cloaked figures and she fell to the ground.

When Kagami looked up at the figure that made her fall, she once again cried in fright. The hood fell off, revealing the head of a goat with long, twisted horns. As Kagami yelled, another cloaked figure seized her and Kagami looked into the black eyes of a human body with a pig's head with rotting tusks and moldy warts all across its face. The two creatures dragged the thrashing Kagami up the platform, catching her parents' attention and they also added their screams of sorrow to the mix.

They tried to calm Kagami down and Miki even begged the guards for them to kill her and Tadao instead of their daughter but the animal guards heeded the executioner's orders. Kagami was tied to a board and slid underneath the guillotine and she looked up at the massive and shining blade towering above her waiting to fall onto her neck. Her tears drenched her face as she shook her head and cried for mercy at the executioner, who suddenly began to laugh a familiar cackle.

"We all have to die someday, Kagami!" The executioner laughed and abruptly removed the black mask hiding the identity.

Kagami screamed yet again when she saw her executioner was Miyuki Takara with a sinister look upon her face while she laughed and gripped the release pin on the guillotine that would make the blade fall. Kagami called her name one last time in a desperate attempt to gain pity from her but it was no use. With a final smile and wink, Miyuki pulled the pin and Kagami looked up and saw the silver blade plummet for her neck. She only heard an avalanche of sinister laughing and her parents screaming her name until the blade made contact with her soft flesh and opened it, sending a painful and blunt shockwave throughout Kagami's entire body.

(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(- )-(-)

Sounding another scream of terror, Kagami Hiiragi jumped and jolted awake from her nightmare and kept crying. Once again drenched in sweat and trembling uncontrollably, Kagami searched her settings and found she was in Miyakawa's bed and she nearly shrieked when she discovered someone was in it with her and was also awakened by her screams. It was Miyakawa herself and she looked up at the crying Kagami.

"Kagami, what's wrong? What's going on?" She asked quickly, as if Miyakawa herself was expecting company and Kagami heard a noise or saw something.

"Yuka…I had another nightmare!" Kagami cried.

Hearing this made Miyakawa smile again. She slowly sat up and hugged Kagami gently and the crying Hiiragi wasted no time in burying her face in Miyakawa's bosom and sobbed uncontrollably. Miyakawa began stroking Kagami's long hair while also patting her back and shushed her gently.

"There, there, baby. It was only a dream." She said with a conniving smile. "Now tell me, what was it about?"

"I…I was in this dungeon…and then I was in a castle being chased by all these horrible things and then…" Kagami suddenly paused.

Miyakawa stopped rubbing Kagami's head and looked down at her after the pause went on for too long. Kagami had nothing but utter rage and boiling hatred in her eyes and her grinding teeth also showed it. The depraved sociopath that was Kagami's string puller grinned slightly and believed that her drug was once again taking its malicious toll on Kagami. She started petting her again and added more.

"Did you see someone familiar in your nightmare?" Miyakawa asked.

"I saw you…and what you did to my friends…" Kagami hissed, making Miyakawa look up with a face that illustrated genuine fear.

Before she could react, Kagami's hand latched onto her throat and Miyakawa shrieked when Kagami forced her back onto the bed and the enraged girl planted herself on top of her. Kagami latched onto Miyakawa's throat with her other hand and began to slowly constrict her of air and she began to thrash under Kagami's weight. Miyakawa could see the redness in Kagami's eyes and the black blood-shot veins within the whites. She knew her life was now in danger as Kagami squeezed tighter and tighter.

"You killed my friends…I'm going to kill you…" Kagami hissed quickly as she strangled Miyakawa.

Miyakawa knew that her drug caused immense blind fury but she had no idea it would be so intense that it would be able to wipe even Kagami's memories of her clean in the blink of an eye. She kicked and thrashed and tried to detach Kagami's vice-like grip off her neck but it was no good. The drugs had full control of Kagami and she was an endless hurricane of uncontrollable hate and rage. As Miyakawa felt herself losing consciousness, she tried one final attempt at getting Kagami off her and she hoped that this person was also in Kagami's nightmare.

"The pink-haired one…she was there…too…!" Miyakawa choked as her lips started to change color.

The image of Miyuki Takara playing the role of Kagami's executioner suddenly reappeared in her mind and Kagami slowly let go of Miyakawa. She wasted no time in sucking in more precious oxygen but Kagami still had her hand around her neck. The twin-tailed girl's face now showed a look of curiosity in the sea of burning contempt that was her two eyes.

"How the fuck did you know that, Yuka?" Kagami snarled with a sinister frown.

"You…you talked about her…last night." Miyakawa coughed. "I told you…to teach her a lesson. You need to find her, Kagami. She's the one who is your enemy and needs to be dealt with. Break through her perfect little bubble of perfection as you put it last night and fuck her up. I'll help you…"

With Yuka's voice stoking more flames, Kagami released Miyakawa completely. Miyakawa quickly sat up and coughed repeatedly while holding her throbbing throat. The twin-tailed girl was calmed by Miyakawa's reassurance for now but Kagami was still high as the stars and the drugs made her believe the entire world was conspiring against her. Miyakawa knew this as fact and kept talking to Kagami while rubbing her neck.

"Listen to me, Kagami, I'm the only one you can trust. Everyone else is trying to take you away from your drugs as I've said before. Remember that intervention they tricked you into going. Your friends lied and deceived you." Miyakawa said. "Please, baby, let's go to this Takara bitch's house tonight and you can show her a thing or two. Get even with her. Skin that bitch alive!"

Kagami held her glare at Miyakawa until she huffed and climbed out of bed. Miyakawa knew Kagami was too high on the drugs and rage to fall back asleep and because of the blind fury involved, Miyakawa also got up with the time reading four o'clock in the morning for fear of Kagami coming back and killing her in her sleep. Because Miyakawa's degeneracy knew no bounds, she was immensely aroused by the idea of death befalling her and it only made her want to keep Kagami for herself even more.

Keeping Kagami both hooked on the Satan's Blood drug and calm at the same time proved to be a herculean task for Miyakawa but she was able to do so by reminding Kagami that Miyuki Takara was the true enemy that needed to be dealt with. By the time dusk had come once again, Kagami was like a rabid dog on a leash begging to be let off and tear its target to pieces. As Miyakawa allowed Kagami to lead the way to the upscale neighborhood, Miyuki herself, innocent to the dangers approaching her, sat complacently on a long couch in the spacious living room reading a book.

Listening to the crickets outside added to the tranquil atmosphere of her reading until she heard the garage door opening. Her father had arrived home from work but was waiting to pick her mother up for their planned dinner reservations. Yukari Takara soon came downstairs and walked past her daughter.

"Okay we're leaving now, dear." She said happily. "We'll be home late so take care of the house for us."

Miyuki looked up from her book at her mother dressed in an expensive dress with diamond earrings and necklace complementing the wardrobe. Miyuki smiled and replied, "Okay, mother, I will. Have a pleasant dinner."

Yukari left the house and Miyuki was able to hear the garage door close again and the car drive away, allowing the crickets to continue their uninterrupted serenade while fireflies added a light show to the night. As Miyuki's ongoing reading continued, she began to feel sleepy from the book and decided to make a cup of tea to allow herself to keep going. As she heated the drink in the microwave, she heard a sudden knock on her front door.

She wasn't expecting company, especially at this hour so was cautious as she approached the door and looked through the peephole. She was able to see the black-colored hair of Kagami Hiiragi's pigtails, as well as her whitening flesh from malnutrition and greenish black ovals around her eyes. Miyuki wasted no time in unlocking the door and she ripped it open.

"Kagami-san?! What are you doing here and at this hour?! Are you okay? Do you need help?" Miyuki lambasted Kagami with the endless questions.

Silence was Kagami's first response until her right eye began twitching and it was then that Miyuki noticed the reddish iris's and black veins in her eyes. Kagami finally opened her mouth and said, "May I come in, please? I would like to talk about something."

To Miyuki this seemed to be a good sign on the surface. Because the pink-haired girl was who she was, she automatically assumed the best case scenario and believed that Kagami had seen the error of her ways. Maybe she was here to ask for help in making amends with everyone. It was this optimistic thinking that prompted Miyuki to open the door further and allow Kagami to enter her home. Once she was in, Miyuki locked it again, not knowing that she might as well be locking her own prison door closed.

Miyuki showed her hospitable side to her friend and guided her into the living room and sat her down on a comfortable recliner. The pink-haired girl took a seat on the large couch next to her and examined Kagami over before she started talking again. "Kagami-san, are you okay? May I get you anything?"

Kagami stared into space with her bizarre eyes and slowly shook her head. "No thank you, Miyuki."

"Then please tell me what you want to talk about. Is it about the intervention?" Miyuki abruptly replied.

Still staring into space, Kagami's eye twitched again. "Actually…it's about you."

Miyuki tilted her head with curiosity. Before she could reply however, the microwave dinged and the drink was ready. Miyuki excused herself quickly and now intended to give her drink to Kagami. With silence now in the large house, Miyuki rushed to the microwave and opened the door. She took the mug out and placed it on the counter and when she looked up to close the glass door, she saw the reflection of the twin-tailed girl standing directly behind her with her head tilted downward.

Miyuki shrieked at the surprise and quickly spun around to see Kagami standing only twelve inches away from her. "Ka…Kagami…san?" She uttered.

Kagami slowly lifted her head and reared the face of an animal ready to attack, making Miyuki gulp and suddenly feel an emotion she never felt before of her friend. Miyuki felt fear.

"Goodbye, Miyuki Takara." Kagami whispered.

It happened so fast and so maliciously, Miyuki couldn't even fathom it let alone block it. Kagami swung her arm around and her clenched fist made razor contact with the right side of Miyuki's head. The gruesome blow knocked Miyuki's glasses off and sent her to the floor as stars now clouded her vision. As her head pulsated, Miyuki felt an unbearable crunch against her stomach when she felt Kagami's boot kick her in the abdomen. It wasn't a single strike. Kagami kicked her three more times in a row until she reached down, latched onto her pink hair, and hoisted her up, making Miyuki scream in pain and fear.

Kagami abruptly followed it up with a callous punch to the nose, making the blood fly from the nostrils in an instant. The raging Hiiragi pulled the screaming Miyuki to her feet and threw her, making the frightened girl strike the kitchen's island, adding more searing pain to her back but before she could respond, Kagami grabbed Miyuki's hair again and forced her head into the glass door of the microwave, shattering it and cutting her face.

Miyuki fell to the floor and tried to crawl away as she cried relentlessly and dripped blood from her face until Kagami grabbed her by her ankle and forced her to turn onto her back. Miyuki looked up through her crying eyes and saw Kagami holding the mug of searing hot liquid and the crazed girl tilted the mug, making the liquid fall and splash on her glass-riddled wounds. The burning pain was intense as Miyuki cried louder for help and for Kagami to stop but her cries went on deaf ears. Kagami grabbed a pottery bowl full of fresh fruit sitting in the middle of the kitchen island and threw it with all her might, making it shatter over Miyuki's ribs.

Kagami dropped herself to her knees, each one pinning themselves on both of Miyuki's arms and she was held down. Miyuki felt Kagami's hands slap her endlessly one right after the other for an unknown amount of time until Miyuki's face became swollen. Kagami abruptly followed it up by placing her thumb on Miyuki's right eyeball and began to press hard with all her might, making Miyuki deepen her screams while latching onto Kagami's arm and tried to pull it out of her as her thumb dug deeper and deeper.

Kagami soon pulled her thumb out of Miyuki's bleeding eye socket and looked around as the pink-haired girl continued to bleed and cry for mercy. Kagami reached off to the side and found Miyuki's fractured glasses and formed a slight grin and the twin-tailed girl's nostrils began to drip blood from the surging drugs sending all her bodily functions into overdrive. As Kagami observed the fractured glasses, Miyuki was finally able to find her voice.

She looked up, spat out a bit of blood, and squeaked, "…Why…?"

"Why? For your own good, Yuki-chan. Payback…for what you did to me…in Paris." Kagami growled with a satisfied smirk that mimicked Yuka Miyakawa's.

Miyuki gave a devastated and confused face at the answer. "I…I don't know…what you're talking about…Kagami-san…"

"Don't you fuck with me you little bitch!" Kagami shrieked, making Miyuki scream and cry louder.

Kagami held Miyuki's glasses in her one hand while she continued to slap and punch the pinned girl with the other. Miyuki was able to cry, "Kagami-san, it hurts! Please…let go! You're my friend! Please stop hitting me!"

Kagami abruptly stopped hitting Miyuki but the pink-haired girl's attack wasn't over. Still keeping her smile, Kagami giggled as she opened the broken glasses and gently placed them over Miyuki's eyes and gazed at her victim through the broken lenses. Knowing that Miyuki was too dazed and battered to stand on her own, Kagami stood above her while giggling wildly.

"Now say goodnight, little miss so-called High Executioner!" Kagami shrieked, raised her boot high, and plummeted it downward onto Miyuki's face, creating a gut-wrenching glass shattering sound across the house and suddenly all was quiet in the Takara residence.

Outside the quiet mansion, Yuka Miyakawa sat on the street curb playing with her favorite piece of jewelry around her neck with one hand while fiddling with a metal tool in the other. When she heard the front door open, she turned and saw Kagami casually walk out and close it behind her. Silent and her wardrobe stained in foreign blood, Kagami unceremoniously walked down the marble walkway and past Miyakawa.

"The deed is done. Let's go." Kagami snapped as the effect of the Satan's Blood was wearing off.

Miyakawa grinned and turned back to the door and began walking for the house. "You go ahead, baby girl. I'll catch up. I have something in there I want. You once told me she hated the dentist, right? Then she's going to truly despise me if she wakes up."

Kagami turned her head and saw Yuka Miyakawa open the front door, allowing the light inside to illuminate the necklace of human teeth around her neck and the metal pair of pliers in her hand and she entered the house and closed the door.


	30. Chapter 30

CHAPTER 29

There wasn't a single complacent nor relaxed face at Saitama Central Hospital as the group of girls lingered in the waiting room. Konata, Tsukasa, Minami, Yutaka, Ayano, Patty, and Hiyori all sat in their chairs and felt so helpless and useless as the only thing they could do was sit and wait for news of their friend, Miyuki Takara. It all happened so fast, especially for Konata and Tsukasa. At one point the pink-haired girl was spending the night at Tsukasa's home and twenty-four hours later, she was in the hospital and for all reasons, a violent attack. The idea was so horrid that as they sat in the spacious waiting room, some still couldn't comprehend that there was a "person" alive that was so vile and so depraved that they would beat a girl like Miyuki Takara nearly to death.

Even when Konata turned her head and saw Miyuki's parents sitting closest to the operating room doors and crying, she still could barely believe that something like this had happened. Yukari was a complete mess while her husband tried his best to comfort her until the large doors opened and a middle-aged male doctor walked out while removing his surgical mask. With permission from Miyuki's parents, the girls scooted closer to await the news of their battered friend as the doctor sat down in front of them.

"Well…I must first tell you that your daughter will live." The doctor quickly broke the news everyone was aching for, prompting them to breathe a deep sigh of relief and he continued. "However, we had to put her in a chemically-induced coma so she could sleep through the worst of the pain while she recovers. Your daughter has three broken ribs, a broken nose, a concussion, and it appears to us that whoever attacked Miyuki-san like this, they at one point had her pinned to the ground and they deliberately placed her glasses back on and stomped on them. We were able to remove eight shards of glass from her right eye and four from her left eye but there are still two left in her left. We're going to have to try another surgery soon but for now she needs to recover. Whoever did this also took a disturbing delight in mutating her as one of her molars is missing and based on the wound, we believe it was pulled out with a pair of pliers. Her eyes are what concerns me the most, though."

Yukari gulped as she held her used tissue to her face and stuttered, "What…what does that…mean?"

The doctor inadvertently gulped, telling everyone that it wasn't good news. "It means that…depending on the surgery and…any possible complications…Miyuki-san may lose sight in one or…both of her eyes…permanently."

Yukari abruptly buried her face in her tissue and hands again and began to weep as her husband pulled her closer around her shoulder.

As one of Miyuki's best friends, Konata couldn't help but intervene as the rest of the girls started crying. "Doctor…who could've done this?"

The doctor was reluctant to give his opinion on this criminal-related matter but nonetheless could see how important Miyuki was to this body of people so he did the best he could. "Ma'am, I only know as much as you do about that. The police are still conducting their investigation but I was informed by an officer in the operating room that they completed their search of the Takara household and found no sign of a break-in, meaning it wasn't a robbery gone bad so whoever did it, there is a very high chance that Miyuki-san knew the assailant and willingly let them in the front door."

Konata turned her head away and the doctor continued briefing Miyuki's parents on her condition. The blue-haired girl quickly scanned her group of friends and saw anxiety mixed with suspicion in their eyes. None of them dared to say it, especially with Tsukasa in the room, but they all believed they knew who attacked Miyuki. In their minds this had to have been Kagami's work. Who else could've done it? After what they saw at the intervention and Kagami's mild but still heart-stopping attack on Konata, the twin-tailed Hiiragi was the only viable answer. They also wouldn't admit this but now they all feared for their safety. They believed that this was Kagami's idea of revenge; to pick them all off one at a time. Of course, they were still oblivious to the fact that Kagami was high on an incredibly potent drug when she attacked Miyuki.

Konata glanced back at Tsukasa, who was also listening to the doctor explain everything to her parents. The youngest Hiiragi twin joined Miyuki's parents in their deepening cries when the doctor informed them that Miyuki was going to have to miss her study abroad semester to France in the coming fall as a result of her injuries and the lengthy recovery process. In Konata's mind, Tsukasa was the only one who couldn't feel what everyone else was feeling when it came to Kagami. She was the only one who didn't suspect her sister of doing such a horrendous thing to one of her own friends. Was it still blind love for Kagami that hindered her from seeing it, or was she still simply _that_ innocent to the evil Kagami was now embedded in?

The group of friends wanted to see their battered and sleeping friend but regrettably the doctor couldn't allow that as she still wasn't out of the operating room yet and she needed time to heal from it. They left all their gifts for Miyuki with her crying parents and had no choice but to go about their day. How could they though? They not only had to carry on with not only the knowledge that their friend was in a coma after a sadistic beat down, but they also had to fear for their safety. Kagami was still loose in the streets somewhere and for all they knew, she could be waiting at one of their houses for one of them when they returned.

Because Tsukasa was so used to having someone walk to and from home with her on a daily basis, she still needed someone to do that for her now more than ever after hearing about Miyuki. Konata took command for that as she and Tsukasa were starting to become as close as Tsukasa was to Kagami at one point. The two friends walked side-by-side and Konata did her best to try and keep the conversation off Miyuki and Kagami's possible involvement, but Tsukasa's innocence to it all wouldn't let it go.

"Who could've done such a horrible thing to Yuki-chan?" Tsukasa whimpered with a sniff.

Konata shook her head and ignored her instincts telling her about Kagami for now. "I wish I could tell you, Tsukasa, but I talked to Yui-nee-san and she already told me that the police are on the case and they're looking for whoever did it. It'll only be a matter of time until whoever did it is arrested."

Tsukasa nodded. "I hope so. Yuki-chan is like…another sister to me. If Kagami was here and…herself again…she would make that evil person pay."

The blue-haired girl wanted to sigh out loud but decided to keep beating around the bush. "Look, Tsukasa, I know you still love Kagami and everything, but your sister is different now and she's…not herself."

To Konata's surprise, Tsukasa nodded and responded, "I agree with you, Kona-chan."

Konata tilted her head. "You do?"

Tsukasa nodded again. "I know all of that, but she's still out there somewhere and what if the person who did that to Yuki-chan finds Kagami and does that to her, too?"

This time Konata had no problem in bluntly sighing, which Tsukasa interpreted as an insinuation. "Is there something wrong, Kona-chan?"

"Well, Tsukasa, I actually have a feeling I know who attacked Miyuki…but I don't think you're going to like the answer." Konata replied and averted her eyes.

Tsukasa quickly stopped walking and halted Konata too. "You do, Kona -chan?! Then tell me! Tell me! Tell me who did it so we can go to the police together!"

Konata stared at the youngest Hiiragi girl who now had so much life and vigor in her once crying eyes. As she stared, the short blue-haired girl felt conflicted and confused at the same time. She felt irony in the fact that Tsukasa's innocence was once a huge part of her charm, but now it hindered her from seeing reality. Konata didn't know if she wanted to be the one or if she had to be the one to break through Tsukasa's innocence barrier and tell her just how sick Kagami had become, if not for her own good than for her own safety as well if she ever encountered her again.

She took another deep breath and replied, "I think that it was…Kagami…who did it."

Tsukasa's face suddenly froze. Konata expected her to explode with a sudden emotional outburst of denial but it was quite the opposite initially. Tsukasa simply stood before her with an expression that painted no reaction whatsoever and Konata didn't know what to make of it. Was she angry? Was she upset? The blue-haired girl couldn't tell until Konata's words truly sank into Tsukasa's brain and she replied.

"You…you think…you think it…it was…sis?" Tsukasa wheezed with eyes that were beginning to moisten and her facial muscles began to twitch.

Konata now feared that Tsukasa's reaction was going to be anything but accepting of this harsh possibility but the blue-haired girl knew there was no turning back now as her opinion was now public knowledge. "Yes, Tsukasa, I do believe it was Kagami. Think about it. You saw how she hit me with the picture frame at the intervention and how she reacted when Patty-chan first brought her there. This attack on Miyuki has to be an act of revenge for the intervention."

Tsukasa's breathing deepened until a full-sized tear fell from her eye and she shook her head violently. "No, no, no! It couldn't have been Kagami! Even when she was the way she was she would _never_ do anything like that to Yuki-chan!"

"But Tsukasa, she assaulted you and your entire family before. She even nearly murdered your own mother." Konata tried to keep her friend calm as she knew if she raised her voice it would only add fuel to the fire. "Is it so hard to believe that if Kagami is capable of doing that to her own family that she could also do that to Miyuki?"

Tsukasa quickly covered her ears and turned her back. "No, Kona-chan, you're wrong! My sis would never hurt someone like Yuki-chan! She didn't have anything to do with our family issues so she couldn't have! And besides, if it was really Kagami who did it for revenge, then explain to me why she also didn't attack Minami-chan while she was there! She lives right across the street from her!"

It was this sudden realization that actually stumped Konata because Tsukasa had a point. Minami Iwasaki was just as much an active and willing participant of the intervention as either Tsukasa or even Konata herself was. If Kagami was responsible for Miyuki's current state, then why didn't she simply cross the street and beat down two birds with one stone? Konata thought she had her answer but Tsukasa's skepticism and retort was making her second-guess herself.

"I…I don't have an answer for that, Tsukasa, but if Kagami didn't do that than who else would have a grudge against someone as pure and sweet as Miyuki that would be so bad that they would do that to her?" Konata countered as she crossed her arms across her chest.

Tsukasa turned back and wiped her eyes. "I don't know but I do know that Kagami could never hurt one of her closest friends like that! She's all talk because the drugs are talking for her! The Kagami we all know and love is still inside her but it's buried by so much anguish and despair over Matsuri and Kusakabe-san!"

Konata glanced away and looked back at Tsukasa. "Tsukasa, look, I—"

"I don't want to hear it, Kona-chan!" Tsukasa interrupted anxiously but took a deep breath herself and calmed herself before she said something she would regret like Kagami once did to Matsuri. "Look, I appreciate everything you tried to do for us, but I think what we need now is to take it from here as a family. I think I can make it home on my own from here, Kona-chan, so thank you. I'll text you later."

Tsukasa quickly turned and scurried down the street, leaving the blue-haired girl alone and feeling depressed. Konata slowly shook her head in disappointment, turned, and walked in the opposite direction as the two friends parted company in opposite directions.

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Before Tsukasa made it back to her home, Inori texted her to tell her she was at the market and asked her if she wanted anything. Tsukasa replied no thank you and soon stood on her house's front doorstep while tucking her phone back into her skirt pocket. She felt flustered and stressed from her earlier conversation with Konata about Miyuki and tried her old coping mechanism to try and calm herself. She reached into her blue overalls pocket and retracted the small stuffed puppy Dr. Kishimoto gave her during their first visit with them and she hugged the puppy to her face. She rubbed the plush doll gently across her cheek and soon felt better as she unlocked her front door. As she opened the door and walked in, she didn't notice the window to her left was broken. If she did see it, she would know that someone was in the house and she was walking not into the sanctity of her home, but into deep trouble.

As soon as Tsukasa closed the door behind her, she walked into the foyer and could hear activity coming from inside the kitchen and assumed her parents were home. She walked further in and said, "Mom? Dad?"

Tsukasa rounded the corner and was met with a scene of horror. Her entire home was destroyed. Tables were overturned, windows were smashed, the walls were riddled with axe chops, broken glass and framed family pictures were scattered all over the floors, and all the furniture was also hacked with an axe. The only thing that kept Tsukasa from screaming was when she saw the supposed perpetrator's back. She recognized the twin pigtails of her sister and her sister's back was facing her and she was blasted by a tidal wave of mixed emotions. She didn't know whether to feel scared, relieved that her sister was home, or panic from what happened to her home.

"Kagami! You're home! But what happened here?! Were we robbed?! Are you okay?! Are you hurt?! Do you want me to call the police or an ambulance?!" Tsukasa's wails of hysteria buried the frozen twin-tailed girl and Tsukasa suddenly noticed a pair of pliers in Kagami's hands. "What are those for, sis?"

Kagami remained motionless and staring into space until she slowly turned, revealing the face of a being not of this world. The flesh on her face was pasty white, green and black circles covered her eyes, her eyeballs were riddled with black veins as well as glowing red iris's, and her lips were a disturbing mixture of purple, blue, and black and the skin was peeling off them. Kagami simply stood and looked at her increasingly scared sister until Kagami smiled a teeth-rearing grin.

It wasn't the sudden disturbing smile that made Tsukasa scream in terror. It was when a pint of blood rushed out of Kagami's mouth and splashed on the floor. Kagami's teeth could be seen through the flowing river of blood oozing out of her mouth and Tsukasa kept screaming at the sight.

"Sis! You're hurt! What happened?!" Tsukasa cried as she tightened her grip on her plushy dog.

Kagami started giggling through the blood flowing out of her mouth, making Tsukasa tremble in fear. The twin-tailed girl uttered in a drug-fueled rant, "Thought you could just sneak in here and kill me, did you? Well…so…did…he…"

Kagami pointed to the floor near her boot and when Tsukasa saw the cause of so much blood loss from her sister's mouth, she felt her stomach flip and she was ready to vomit. A human tooth sat in a small puddle of blood on the floor and Tsukasa was able to put the two together. Kagami's drug abuse had reached a point where she was hallucinating and hearing her teeth talk to her, prompting her to grab a pair of pliers and pull one of them out herself.

The squeamish Tsukasa fell to the floor and covered her mouth to prevent a spew and she heard her sister drop the pliers and pick something else up from behind a destroyed piece of furniture. Tsukasa slowly raised her head again and screamed loudly when she saw her sister standing above her with an axe in her hands and was still smiling her bloody smirk. Tsukasa quickly sprung and sat up and began to back up slowly with her hands and feet on the floor as Kagami continued.

"Now, my baby sister, I'm going to have to do something to you now…but don't worry…it's for your own good…" Kagami giggled as she tightened the grip on the bladed tool. "Hold still…and I'll make it quick."

Tsukasa panicked and she started crying relentlessly as she continued to back up. "Sis, please don't hurt me! Don't hurt me! I love you!"

"Tsukasa…baby sister…sissy…my favorite sibling…don't worry…I'm not going to hurt you…I'm just going to _kill you_!" Kagami screamed, raised the axe, and forced it downward.

Tsukasa backed up enough and spread her legs just in time for the blade to dig into the floor and Tsukasa screamed her lungs dry when she saw the axe cut her plush puppy from Dr. Kishimoto in half. Kagami tried to pry the blade out of the floor but it proved difficult, allowing Tsukasa to scramble to her feet and take off running. Kagami was able to wedge the axe free and began chasing her sister, her mouth still oozing blood. Tsukasa kept screaming as she ran for the staircase and as she climbed, she felt the wind of the axe blow behind her and the crack of it landing in the steps.

Tsukasa suddenly tripped and fell onto the steps and tried to climb up but she felt Kagami's hand suddenly latch onto her foot, making her deepen her cries of terror as she flipped over to see her sister's laughing face with a bloody mouth as she raised her axe high with her other arm. Using her free foot, Tsukasa quickly kicked Kagami in the stomach, knocking her down the steps and to the floor, allowing Tsukasa to climb up the steps and she made a mad dash for her room.

Kagami quickly recovered and carried her axe up the stairs and heard Tsukasa's door slam shut and lock. Inside her room, Tsukasa tried to keep quiet as she trembled and cried but knew it wouldn't make a difference. In the midst of her panic, her childish and innocent mind told her to escape to her bedroom, a place that always offered her protection and comfort instead of making a dash for the front door. She knew she was trapped and tried to think of what to do next.

When she heard Kagami slowly creeping up the stairs, she cowered in the corner of her room away from the door and kept shaking and crying. Kagami's voice echoed in the hallway, "Oh little sis? Little sis? Big sister Kagami wants to play with you…"

Tsukasa's panting reached unprecedented heights as she curled tighter into a ball and kept crying. She started screaming once again when Kagami's axe blade cut into her wooden door. Kagami quickly retracted the blade and chopped again, turning up the volume of Tsukasa's screams and making another piece of the door fall away. The enraged twin-tailed Hiiragi chopped several more times until she created a hole large enough to jam her face through though splinters still lodged themselves in her face and drew blood.

"Peek-a-boo, baby sis!" Kagami screamed and followed it up with a laugh as she chopped one more time, making the rest of the door fall away and the drug-fueled Kagami Hiiragi stepped into her screaming sister's bedroom.

Tsukasa kept trying to back up but she was trapped in her corner as she stayed in her ball and looked up with tear-drenched eyes at her former idol, protector, and big sister slowly approach her with the axe. "Kagami, please don't kill me! Please don't do this! Have mercy! I don't want to die!"

Kagami finally stood above her trembling sister and giggled. "Don't worry, Tsukasa, I'll make it quick. Now hold still and I'll aim for your head!"

The twin-tailed girl tightened her grip on her axe and raised it high again over her head as Tsukasa dug herself further into the floor and held her hands up both as her show of surrender and desire to block the weapon though she knew it was a futile plan. Tsukasa kept screaming and crying for mercy and as Kagami mustered the strength to drive the razor weapon onto her sister, she heard a new pair of footsteps rush up the stairs.

"Kagami, drop the axe! Don't hurt Tsukasa!" Inori's voice screamed with indescribable fury and panic.

Still holding her weapon high above the trembling and crying Tsukasa curled in a ball, Kagami slowly turned around and looked at her sister standing in the open doorway and in a state of shock and fear. Already she was sweating and panting with her eyes leaking tears at the sheer insanity that Kagami had unleashed onto the Hiiragi household. Worst of all Inori could still see Tsukasa with a look of fear that she would only see in her worst nightmare. Of course, she was in the midst of such a nightmare.

Kagami reformed her blood-soaked smile and slowly lowered her weapon. "Even better…this will be payback for the fucking frying pan…"

Kagami suddenly charged Inori while swinging the axe. Inori shrieked and ducked just in time for the blade to miss her and dig deep into the doorframe. The oldest Hiiragi sister was now in a serious dilemma. She had either a choice of either letting her crazed sister chase her with an axe, or flee for her life while risking Kagami turning around to finish Tsukasa. Her sisterly instincts took hold and she tried to keep Kagami's interest in chasing her alive by staying close as Kagami finally pulled the axe out of the doorframe.

Inori rushed down the stairs as Kagami gave chase with her weapon and laughing every step of the way. The two siblings reemerged in the destroyed kitchen and living room and Kagami and Inori faced off. As terrified as Inori was when she turned and faced her drugged sister bleeding and holding the axe, Kagami seemed to be having the time of her life. Her laugh was disturbing yet it somehow seemed genuine and not forced.

"Kagami, calm down! What's wrong?! Please stop destroying our home! Stop! Stop!" Inori cried the last two words as Kagami swung her axe in a seemingly taunting display.

"Oh come now, big sis!" Kagami spat more blood out. "I'm only playing a game! It's called how many chops does it take to get to the center of your guts!"

"Snap out of it, Kagami! You're high and I know it's not you that's doing this!" Inori shouted as she continued to back up.

"I am doing this, Inori! I have become the darkest shadow of the night!" Kagami screamed so loudly it was barely audible.

As Kagami readied herself to charge without holding back, a man's voice called her name. She quickly turned and saw Tadao Hiiragi had come home and he presented a look of fear that mirrored Inori's. He held out his hand and tried to get her to drop the axe but it was no use. The Kagami Hiiragi he remembered holding in his arms after her birth eighteen years ago was gone and replaced by a creature of unparalleled hate and anger.

"Eat this!" Kagami screamed and to everyone's further horror, she threw the axe with all her might and the bladed weapon spun towards her own father.

Tadao was running on his own adrenaline and was barely able to jump out of the way and he felt the wind of the axe blow past him. The blade sunk deep into the wooden wall of the house and Kagami was left in the open without her weapon. Of course, that still didn't stop her drug-fueled rampage. She shrieked loudly again as if it was her own battle cry and never ceasing to amaze everyone, Kagami made a mad sprint for the nearest window and jumped.

Her bodyweight shattered the glass and she plummeted onto the backyard but the drugs hindered her from feeling the glass slice her skin open. She quickly stood, turned back and looked at her petrified sister and father, and made a dash for the small fence while giggling every step of the way. She jumped over the small fence and kept running despite her bleeding and soon disappeared, leaving both their home and their hearts in shambles.

Miki Hiiragi abruptly swooped into the house following her husband and cried, "Where's Tsukasa?!"

"In her room!" Inori cried back.

Miki wasted no time in running upstairs, her heart pounding every step of the way. She nearly screamed when she saw the condition of her daughter's bedroom door but when she rushed in and saw Tsukasa was still alive and physically undamaged, she breathed deeply and swooped in. She dropped herself next to Tsukasa, who was still curled in a ball and shaking, crying, and whimpering.

"My baby, my baby, are you hurt?" Miki whispered as she cuddled her youngest daughter.

Tsukasa was in a state of shock over what just transpired here and it broke Miki's heart to feel her daughter shake like a rattle. "Mo…mom…mommy…I…I…I think I…had an…accident. I'm…I'm sorry I…wet myself…"

Miki softly shushed Tsukasa as she continued to cry in her lap. "It's okay, sweetheart, it's okay. Mommy's here, now. Mommy's here now."

As Tsukasa nestled her crying face in the sanctuary of her mother's bosom, Miki feared that in lieu of this horrifying and unexpected ambush by Kagami, not only their family, but especially their youngest daughter was about to have many, many more appointments with Dr. Nagisa Kishimoto. For now, all Miki could do was continue to rock Tsukasa in her arms as she cried in heartbreaking fear of the one who was once her idol and best friend who tried to take her life in the most sadistic way imaginable. Little did anyone know that Tsukasa's pain and mental destruction at the hands of Kagami Hiiragi was still far from over, as was Kagami's decline into disparity and ruin.


	31. Chapter 31

CHAPTER 30

A consistent and throbbing pain of relentless agony awoke Kagami Hiiragi from her slumber the day after her violent and nearly fatal axe attack on her family. She slowly stirred and began to groan in pain. She felt the pain both inside her head and mouth, though the pain inside her mouth was proving to be dominant as she felt herself supported by a soft mattress and nestled under covers. Her whole body ached and cracked as she sat up and slowly opened her eyes.

The familiar and grim setup of Yuka Miyakawa's bedroom registered itself in her mind and she tried to piece the previous night together as she rubbed her head. The last night was a complete blur, but she soon found that so were all of yesterday and even the day before that. Kagami felt very tired and weak as most people do when they first wakeup in the morning, but she shifted her eyes to the digital clock on the nightstand and she realized it wasn't morning, but rather the middle of the afternoon.

"What…what happened…?" Kagami mumbled with a grunt.

Still trying to remember the past two days, the only thing she could remember was storming out of the intervention. Suddenly, she remembered she went to a free health clinic because of a rash that was growing and burning on her privates. She lifted the sheets and her panties and found the red mark was still there and the color seemed to have deepened but it wasn't itching nor burning anymore. The pain in her mouth began to radiate again so she began to feel her right cheek.

She felt the rows of teeth within her mouth until her fingers sank into a gap between her teeth. More pain spiked in her mouth and she yelped and jumped from the surprise sensation. She fingered the gap between her two teeth and moved her tongue upward and her tongue explored a hole in the spot where a tooth should be. Kagami instantly panicked and jumped out of bed.

"Yuka! Yuka…!" She cried and tore the bedroom door open and dashed into the living room.

She spotted both Yuka Miyakawa and Ryuji Katsumoto sitting next to each other with millions of yen stacked on her coffee table being fed through an electronic counter, as well as a scale with more drugs sitting on one side of it and the needle telling them how heavy they were. Ryuji was writing the weight and worth of the drugs in a notepad when Kagami came tearing out of Miyakawa's bedroom holding her mouth. The ailing twin-tailed Hiiragi was able to disregard the tons of cash and drugs as she had a more pressing issue at hand.

"Yuka! Am I missing a tooth?! Am I missing a tooth?!" Kagami shrieked and before Miyakawa could respond, Kagami quickly turned and sprinted for the bathroom.

She plowed the door open and looked in the mirror while pulling her cheek back. Sure enough, a sickening gap sat between two of her teeth with the spot showing a wound in the gum that was covered by a reddish black scab. Kagami screamed when she saw the wound and started crying as Miyakawa casually approached the doorway and looked at the hysterical Hiiragi twin.

"Come on, calm down, Kagami. It's a missing tooth, not a missing arm. Missing teeth are easily replaceable and I can do that for you." Miyakawa stated calmly.

"Have you lost your fucking mind?! Do you see this?! I'm missing a tooth! What the hell happened to my tooth?!" Kagami shrieked again.

"You pulled it out yourself apparently." Miyakawa responded as she folded her arms and leaned against the doorframe.

Kagami ceased her tantrum when she heard this. "I…I what?"

To her surprise, Miyakawa giggled and sighed. "You came back to my apartment yesterday afternoon high as a satellite and out of your mind. You were tripping on that special black heroin I gave you and were hallucinating and screaming your head off. You apparently ripped that tooth out somewhere else and came back here and then you threw up, pissed yourself, and then passed out…for twenty-eight hours. And when I say passed out, I mean technically you OD'd."

Kagami once again went wild. "I overdosed?! I could've died!"

"You didn't though." Miyakawa replied sharply. "Besides, when you OD'd I injected you with my own mixture that cancels out the drugs that did it and I cleaned you up and put you to bed. You're fine now."

"I'm fine?! Look at my fucking mouth! In case you still haven't noticed, I'm missing a fucking tooth! Oh god! I look like a slutty inbreed!" Kagami screamed again and showed her toothless gap in her gum.

"In case you didn't hear me, I told you I can replace your tooth. I've done it before so calm down!" Miyakawa snapped towards the end.

Kagami still panted wildly from her panic but Miyakawa's reassurance soon found Kagami's comprehension. "You…you can replace it?"

Miyakawa nodded with a smirk.

"And did you say you've done this before?" Kagami asked again, beginning to calm down.

Miyakawa nodded again. "I'm fairly knowledgeable about human anatomy, yes…as well as a little bit of makeshift medical science."

"Will it…will it hurt?"

"No…because you'll be high when I do it." Miyakawa replied with confidence. "By the way, Kagami, you smell like something that's been passed through the system of a sick and dying animal."

Kagami frowned at Miyakawa until she lifted her arm slightly and sniffed, making her cringe and gag and blush slightly. "I uh…I think I'll take a shower."

Miyakawa giggled. "You do that…and I'll join you in a bit to scrub your back…as well as your other gap."

A bright red blush formed across Kagami's face and she giggled nervously as Miyakawa closed the bathroom door and rejoined her cousin on the couch in front of the millions of yen and abundant supply of drugs. Each cousin had a burning cigarette in an ashtray and Miyakawa took hers and took a deep drag on hers and exhaled the smoke while giggling to herself.

"So do you think she killed her sister?" Ryuji asked casually when speaking of Tsukasa in such a grotesque matter. "I know you've been grooming her to do that for awhile."

Miyakawa started laughing as she heard the water running in her bathroom. "I can only assume so. You should've seen the number she did on that pink-haired cunt so it wouldn't surprise me to see it in the newspapers soon. And she doesn't appear to remember any of it, just like what my drug is supposed to do. She doesn't remember pounding that Takara bitch to a pulp as far as I can tell and remember when she came back here yesterday? She was screaming about going at her family with an axe and it doesn't appear that she remembers that either. Also, that overdose did tell me one thing I needed to know. I now know the maximum amount I can give to a person without them overdosing and dying."

As Ryuji packed another large sum of money together, he also started smoking again and sat back. "And tell me again why you wanted that little Hiiragi girl dead so much. She hasn't done anything and I'm pretty sure she's not with those gangbangers that have been trying to push us out of the game."

Miyakawa began to grit her teeth in a show of rising anger and hatred as her eyes also illustrated. "I see parallels between Kagami and her twin sister. The same parallels I once saw between me and…Nagisa. Tsukasa is me…before I woke up and realized how fucked up and how truly pointless life is. But that innocence, that childlike aroma that is everything Tsukasa is now…it's powerful stuff. It has the power to take Kagami away from us and out of our world. Everything I've been doing so far has been to drive those twins apart so that I could keep Kagami forever. She once told me that her family was going to see my sister to try and help Kagami. Consider this my never-ending war against my sister. I want to keep Kagami for myself to spite my sister."

Ryuji rolled his eyes. "You've been fighting that war for sixteen years, Yuka. Perhaps it's time to let it go."

"Shut up, Ryuji, and keep packing my money and drugs. I'm going to stick my face between Kagami's legs and make her squeal." Miyakawa proclaimed shamelessly and stood and began to walk towards the bathroom.

Ryuji puckered his face in disgust at his cousin's blunt response. "That's sick, Yuka. I saw her rash when she OD'd and I know genital herpes when I see it. I've seen it happen in other girls you've recruited before so why are you still touching this girl?"

Miyakawa turned and grinned. "Life's too short. Besides…she gave me genital herpes and I already gave her Chlamydia and HIV a week ago, though that's our little secret for now. Sounds like a fair trade to me."

The depraved Yuka Miyakawa opened the bathroom door and walked in. When she closed it behind her again, Ryuji shook his head and sighed. He always knew that his cousin was reckless and dangerous but it never ceased to amaze him how truly hollow she had become over the years. He could see that she honestly didn't care if she lived or died and if she died, she didn't care by who or what. Ryuji was in his mid-twenties and he still remembered when she was a little girl and couldn't go one whole visit without smiling or laughing innocently.

Ryuji Katsumoto was always an independent child that never needed much attention. He was also never affectionate towards his parents, whose marriage was crumbling years before the rape of Yuka Miyakawa anyways. He always preferred to be on his own and taught himself the ways of the street and was always enticed by the culture of it, prompting him to start his life of crime years ahead of his former sweet and innocent cousin. Still, he remembered when they were kids and how much Miyakawa would light up every time he would visit her. She would always run to him calling his name, waving her arm, and laughing happily. Ryuji would never admit this, but every day it seemed to get a little bit harder for him to watch his cousin sleep with either one or multiple people or jam syringes into her veins to administer the drugs he was the master of acquiring. However, he, just like Miyakawa, was motivated by money so they always stayed in the lifestyle no matter how dangerous it was for them and also despite the fact that they knew they would both be dead before they turned forty.

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Though they weren't considered a huge part of Kagami's life, Patricia Martin and Hiyori Tamura were still rattled by the events of not only the failed intervention, but also news of the dastardly attack on Miyuki Takara and they had just received word regarding the Hiiragi household incident from Konata. This confirmed for them that Kagami was responsible for the violent assault on Miyuki that left her not only in a coma, but her entire life in ruins. She was going to miss her abroad trip to France that she had talked about and worked so hard to get and she may also lose her eyesight permanently. She would also have to undergo many more intrusive and painful surgeries, as well as hard and excruciating recovery.

Still too afraid to return home for fear of an axe or something else at the hands of Kagami waiting for them, the two friends tried to pass as much time as possible at Otome Road. As always, they blew through all their paychecks and allowances in a matter of hours stocking up on the latest otaku gear and the newest manga and anime releases. With their last bit of change, the two girls decided to eat at an outdoor restaurant on the beautiful summer day.

When their order was placed, silence fell between the two girls. Though they were thinking the exact same things, they still couldn't muster the strength to vocalize them to each other. What should've been a positive bonding experience over shopping was only a long and awkwardly quiet trip between the two as each one sat at the table and watched the water in their glasses swish and splash. Why did it have to come to a point where they had to fear for their own safety because one of their friends had succumbed to a world of drugs and prostitution?

"I heard that Tsukasa is going to be seeing more of that therapist that oversaw the intervention." Patty finally spoke.

Hiyori looked up from her water. "Can you blame her? Her own sister tried to hack her to death with an axe. If the dust ever settles from this one, I think we'll all be counting ourselves lucky if she isn't in an insane asylum."

Thinking about someone like Tsukasa being driven to insanity and being forced to leave her family sent a chill down Patty's side as she sighed and she tried to redirect the conversation to a point she wanted to address for awhile now. "Remember when Konata first came to us and told us about the intervention? She instructed us to write our letters to Kagami and tell her how we truly feel about her and how she impacted our lives."

Hiyori nodded. "I remember all of that."

"There was something I wanted to ask you." Patty replied and cleared her throat. "I know we wrote ours together because we have a lot in common and all…but what did you mean when you said that you were once in a dark phase? And that you were suffering a lot?"

The long-haired girl simply sat and stared at Patty with a blank face. It was this emotionless façade that allowed her to cry and scream underneath the faux masquerade of pretentious otaku liveliness. When the golden-haired girl saw her friend gulp slightly, Patty feared that Hiyori may have more in common with Kagami's never-ending downward spiral than she did with her otaku interests.

Hiyori turned her head slightly and began with a simple statement. "I was just…I was just sick of it. I was sick of all of it. I always knew I was different…but I still wanted to make friends and be just like everyone else. I was sick of not being allowed to do that. For the longest time in my life, I felt that I was pre-determined by either nature or some sadistic deity that I was not allowed to have friends or to be accepted by others. My hobbies, my love of drawing, all of it was scrutinized because it didn't fit into what the cool kids deemed cool. It came to a point where I found myself in a position where I had to choose between friends or who I am."

Patty could relate to what Hiyori was saying for the most part. Back where she came from, most people didn't care that she was into anime and manga, but it was her fascination with yaoi and yuri that some believed was a little too bizarre so her friendships were limited. Still motivated by parallel existences, Patty replied, "So you chose to be an otaku and doujin artist."

Hiyori sighed. "Not in the beginning, no. As soon as I started middle school, I was already ready to quit and fell into a phase where all I drew was images of death and torture. I even started dressing darker and started cutting myself. Then I met this other girl who was in the same boat I was in. She also felt betrayed and beaten by the world around her and we started hanging out. My brothers took one look at her and swooped in. They, along with my parents and family, borderline held me captive in my home until I would start talking to a professional. As soon as I let it all out and stopped bottling it up inside…I felt so much better…and my family and I have never had a better relationship ever since."

Patty nodded. "Hiyorin…I know I never say this because I believe I may have made the mistake that others pointed out at the intervention for Kagami-san, but I'm really glad you're my friend. I know we don't say these things to each other or often enough, if not for the only reason being that they're implied and that nothing else needs to be said, but I still want you to know that now. I'm really glad you're my friend and I also want to help you whenever you need it."

Hiyori smiled and felt happiness and euphoria for the first time today since she and her friend went shopping together. "Thank you, Patty-chan. I just wish that girl I once met could've gotten out as well. Still, she put an interesting perspective on things and made decrepit lifestyle sound appealing. My reason for bringing that up is because I wonder if Kagami is using the same justifications for her downfall in lieu of her sister's death and Kusakabe-san's death."

Patty tilted her head. "What did she say?"

"I'll never forget this speech. She told me, 'only the depraved will completely rid themselves of fear. The fear of disapproval makes one strive to be a good person and a fear of being helpless gives one the motivation to seek out strength themselves. Fear is a driving force and a creator of order in the civilized world. However, the amount of fear that exists in the world far exceeds the amount of actual danger. Still, the actions of people are still motivated by fear. Fear of being caught, fear of being ostracized, fear of shame, everything you could imagine. Once you truly let go and give into the darkness, only then will you truly rid yourself of fear and know true freedom and power.'" Hiyori recalled.

The golden-haired girl couldn't help but gulp upon hearing a speech given by a person who truly had no heart or regard for the world around her or the people in it. "What was this girl's name?"

Hiyori slowly shook her head. "I wish I could recall it, but the amount of dedication my family showed me when I was going through my dark phase was enough to push her out. Still, when I heard everything about what Kagami was doing, it reminded me of that girl and what I believe she wanted to persuade me to do at some point."

"Like I said before, I'm glad you're my friend, Hiyorin." Patty said with a smile. "And I'm glad you are the girl I know now. You're perfect the way you are to me so don't ever change again."

Hiyori blushed slightly and giggled. "Thanks again, Patty-chan."

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Later that night, Teasers closed early for what was labeled as repairs to the club, which was a lie. Yuka Miyakawa and her cousin and favorite girl wanted a nice place to stretch out and continue their sordid existences. They not only used the empty club to get high and revel in the cash they were raking in from the drug trade, but tonight Miyakawa planned on fixing Kagami's oral problem. She took a piece of quartz and polished it down to the size of a human tooth and was able to sand it down into the shape of a crown and fastened it to a piece of copper wire that would wrap around Kagami's other teeth to hold it in place. The wires would sit like dental floss in-between her other teeth, which would take some getting used to.

When the fake tooth was ready and the wires were ready to be set, Miyakawa turned back to her cousin and Kagami. Ryuji was able to get Kagami high on crack cocaine, heroin, and narcotics to take away the unbearable pain she would feel if she wasn't high. The decrepit Hiiragi girl's face illustrated a grim portrait of a person on their deathbed from the drugs and she looked like she could overdose again at any second. Her pupils were severely dilated, showing how out of touch she was with her surroundings.

"How you feeling, Kagami?" Miyakawa asked as she sat down next to Kagami and rested a tray of medical supplies next to her as she sat in a cushioned chair.

Kagami's retort was slurred at first until she was able to utter while looking at the center stage where the main pole was. "Does anybody else see Christian Bale making out with that giant Teletubby on the stripping pole?"

Both depraved cousins turned their heads to the center stage to see the pole standing alone amidst the slow flashing lights and fog machine making a layer of smoke hover on the ground below it. The two cousins turned back to look at each other.

"I think she's good to go." Ryuji observed.

Miyakawa smirked and pried Kagami's mouth opened and used a small flashlight to see the wound. She used a plastic mouth guard used in dentist offices to hold a jaw open for x-rays and Kagami's mouth was lodged open. Miyakawa took a deep breath and exhaled bluntly to relax herself. She had pulled countless teeth before for either trophies or for torture on other people but she rarely reattached fake ones so she knew she was rusty on this procedure. One wrong move and she could cause irreversible damage to all of Kagami's mouth and other teeth.

Miyakawa took her first scalpel and slit the scabbing wound open again, making Kagami grunt in uncomforted feelings but Miyakawa shushed her softly and told her it was okay and to remain still. The blood dripped out of the open wound and Ryuji was there to mop it up with a rag when Miyakawa pulled back. She placed the scalpel aside and grabbed a dental hook and went back into Kagami's mouth and peeled the rest of the scab off and removed it from her gums and also disregarded the hook and scab as Ryuji mopped more blood.

Next came the step to add the fake tooth. With the wound open again and providing the fresh hole to house the faux crown, Miyakawa took another hooking tool and dug it into the open wound and expanded the bloody hole. She stretched it open as Kagami continued to squirm slightly and groan in weak agony until the hole was wide enough. Miyakawa nestled the customized rock into Kagami's wound and pushed it further into the gum. When it was in as far as it would go, she fastened the thin copper wire threads around two surrounding teeth and the operation was over.

Miyakawa sat back and breathed another deep sigh in relief. Last time she tried an operation like this, the customized quartz rock broke in the missing gap and rock fractures got into the open gap and she couldn't get them out. It caused an infection that was so horrid and painful that the girl committed suicide. As always, the girl who took her own life was another innocent soul gone awry by the uncertainties and unfairness of life and Yuka Miyakawa as always was there to capitalize on her already existing suffering and recruit her as a dancer and prostitute for her business ventures.

"You did great, baby." Miyakawa said softly and kissed Kagami on her lips, though the twin-tailed Hiiragi barely noticed as she was still high and her senses were numb. "You're gonna want to stay like this for awhile because you will be in serious agony until your gum can heal around that new tooth. Don't worry though, we'll keep popping narcotics into you like they're Tic-Tacs."

"…Yuka…did Santa Claus go to rehab yet…?" Kagami stuttered in a dazed mess.

Miyakawa giggled slightly. "Yes, dear, yes he did. No more presents for the little bastards of the world for awhile but that's okay; we have drugs."

Ryuji nudged Miyakawa's shoulder and she glanced to see him a bottle of whiskey and a shot glass.

Miyakawa took both items as she knew what to do next. She poured the whiskey in the shot glass and held it to Kagami's lips while instructing, "Here, drink this. The alcohol will kill any bacteria and help prevent an infection."

Miyakawa tilted both Kagami's head and the shot glass back and the brown liquid splashed in her mouth and set the wound on fire, making Kagami cringe again. She uttered, "That…that's the worst…chicken noodle soup…ever."

Still amused by Kagami's drug-induced cluelessness, the two cousins kept laughing at her and with the operation a foreseeable success, they started to enjoy the rest of the night with the entire strip club to themselves. Ryuji sat at the bar and called several people on his cell phone while writing notes in another notebook, probably setting up more deals with innocent people, the same way he first addicted Kagami to drugs. As he kept pounding the pavement and totaling the numbers, his psychotic cousin practiced her dance moves on the center stage pole. All the while, they simply left the dazed and nearly unconscious Kagami in the same chair Miyakawa operated on her in. She could've overdosed again and none of them would notice.

Within an hour, the high Kagami was feeling started wearing off and she could feel pulsating soreness in her mouth. She started to hold her pulsating mouth and she groaned loudly, catching Miyakawa's attention as she hung upside-down from the pole. Ryuji gave a quick look over and saw she was still alive so he resumed his work. Miyakawa however slid down the pole and waltzed over to Kagami as she gripped her mouth and tossed in her chair.

"Yuka…Yuka…it hurts…it hurts so much…" Kagami whimpered as she cried from the pain and Miyakawa sat down next to her and held her in her arms.

"There, there, sweetheart, I know it hurts, but don't worry…everything will be okay." Miyakawa whispered affectionately.

Maybe it was still the drugs in Kagami's system, but she suddenly felt better and comforted and memories of being comforted by her mother popped into her head. Kagami could see herself as a little girl and even though she was tough even at that age, she still loved to be comforted by her mother. The memory of a stormy night when she was six years old flashed in her mind as she rested in Miyakawa's grip. Tsukasa was having trouble getting to sleep and Kagami watched with envious eyes as her twin sister was rocked and sang to by Miki. Kagami inched closer and closer hoping to be noticed but her mother's attention was completely dedicated to the crying Tsukasa, who hated thunderstorms. When Miki was finally able to get Tsukasa to sleep, Tadao tip-toed in, scooped his youngest daughter in her arms, and carried her to bed, leaving only Miki and Kagami alone together. When Miki saw Kagami and what she wanted, Miki giggled and opened her arms for her. Instead of rushing to her, Kagami became embarrassed and blushed heavily. She tried to look tough but her blush and sweat drops on her serious face only made her look cute. When another thunderclap echoed outside, it sent Kagami running to her mother, who held her close and started rocking and signing a lullaby for her until she too fell asleep.

"Kagami…you know I'll always take care of you…" Miyakawa whispered with a sinister smile. "Those people who cast you out are horrid creatures, not your friends and family. I'm the only friend, family, and lover you'll ever need…"

"Yuka…thank you." Kagami whispered. "Please help take the pain away."

When Kagami made the motion in her lips, Miyakawa slowly lowered herself down and connected hers with Kagami's. She instantly deepened the kiss when she could still taste the blood in Kagami's mouth and she felt her body temperature rise as she rolled on top of Kagami.

The three lost souls inside the strip club were too busy indulging themselves that they didn't know a black van was rolling to a stop outside. They had company. As Miyakawa and Kagami made out and Ryuji continued his phone calls with potential new clients, the van opened its side door and the people inside announced their arrival.

"Payback time motherfuckers!" A young man's voice echoed across the deserted neighborhood.

Just as the voice outside caught all their attention inside the club, Hell itself was unleashed. A merciless explosion erupted outside and the front side of Teasers was violently struck by bullets. It was an ambush from the rival gang with automatic rifles as they continued to pelt the building relentlessly with endless fire.

Ryuji threw himself to the floor just as the bullets broke through the walls and covered windows and started destroying the inside of the club. Kagami started screaming instantly and Miyakawa leaped off Kagami and also threw herself to the floor and began crawling as glass and sparks rained down on top of them as the bullets kept coming like a river of hot death. The two cousins had been through ordeals like this before and had plans in place.

Ryuji crawled behind the bar and slid a large silver revolver to Miyakawa and she nodded back at him, putting their plan into action. Her cousin nodded back and reached under the bar again and fished out a shotgun as a means of retaliation and crawled to the nearest shattered window next to the bar and aimed the weapon out. When he pulled the trigger, a deafening blast tore through Kagami's eardrums and it only deepened her panic. She curled tighter into a crying ball behind the chair she was once in and kept screaming and crying, though her wails were buried by the barrage of gunfire.

Yuka Miyakawa finally made it into the backroom where she was safe from the gunfire and she put her strategic movement into play. The fact that Teasers was built literally across the street from the pawn shop where Kagami first sold her mother's possessions was no coincidence or accident. It was for strategy in an event such as this. Miyakawa bypassed all the dressers, lockers, and makeup tables for the dancers and went to a door that stated "RESTRICTED" on it. She opened the door and revealed a giant vertical drop straight down into darkness and a ladder that would allow her to climb down. She snatched a flashlight hanging from a nail in the wooden support beam and climbed down.

She was now underground and used the light to illuminate a tunnel that led under the street and would lead her to a trapdoor under the pawn shop where she would reemerge from and ambush the ambushers from across the street. Wasting no time, Miyakawa used the flashlight to guide her down the narrow and filthy tunnel and past squeaking rats and dripping sewage water until she could hear the continuous gunfire above her, telling her she was under the middle of the street. She remained unyielding and eventually made it to another ladder leading her upward and she climbed it and burst through the trapdoor and was in the pawn shop's backroom.

Miyakawa dashed to the front door, unlocked it, and slowly opened it as she cocked the hammer on her revolver. She could see two people in the front seats and the passenger was easily exposed. She raised her weapon high and fired, sending a large and powerful round into the window and it made contact with the passenger's head, making it explode like a confetti popper and sending panic in the van. The driver was coated with his the contents of his passenger's head, prompting him to floor it and the van began to take off.

In the midst of the driver's panic, he accidentally struck the curb, making one of his gunmen lose his balance and he fell out onto the street as the van continued to speed away. The gunman stood and readied for a fight but before he could figure out where Miyakawa was, she fired again, striking him in his right side and knocking him to the ground and he lost his weapon.

Aside from the attacker's cries of agony on the street, silence now returned to the Aku District. A dog barking in the distant darkness of the night added to the ominous quiet and Yuka Miyakawa slowly stepped out of the pawn shop and began walking across the street with a satisfied grin on her face. Still gripping the powerful magnum revolver, she began to walk towards the groaning and bleeding attacker as Ryuji also unlocked the front door of the strip club still gripping his shotgun and Kagami was latching onto his arm as they walked out.

As Miyakawa walked to the middle of the street, her boots kicked around spent bullet casings on the cement, making them ring and clang as they rolled until she stood above her soon-to-be latest victim. The attacker was not a government agent with years of training or even a professional assassin. The attacker was a young boy with facial features that rivaled even that of Tsukasa's in his frightened and innocent look. His baby-face melted Kagami's heart instantly when she saw him bleeding and crying on the cement but Miyakawa stood above him and slowly sat on his stomach with a grin on her face.

"Are you looking at my boobs you pathetic little maggot?" She asked in a taunting tone as she lowered them so he had no choice but to look at her. "I bet you want to do all kinds of dirty things to me. I bet you want to penetrate me. How about I penetrate you?"

Miyakawa suddenly curled two of her fingers into the boy's gunshot wound and began digging deeper. He screamed an ear-piercing cry of pain that made Kagami cry out as well as she watched Miyakawa torture him. She kept curling her fingers tighter and tighter and began to rip his skin open like wrapping paper, only deepening his cries for mercy and for her to stop, which only pleased her.

"Yuka, please don't do it! Please stop! Let him go! He's just a boy, look at him! He's scared and hurt! We need to get him to a hospital and—" Kagami cried but her pleas were instantly silenced.

Ryuji took a step away from her, turned, and slapped her. It wasn't a light one. He put all his masculine strength into it and struck Kagami on the side of her face with remorseless vigor. The strike was so hard that it knocked her off her feet and she fell to the cold cement and felt her eyes water. The full realization of what Ryuji did to her was confirmed for her when she looked up with moistening eyes at him as he rubbed his hand with an angry stare.

"You…you just hit me…" Kagami whimpered and turned to Yuka, who was still planted atop the boy and watching the scene between Kagami and Ryuji. "Yuka…did you just see that? He hit me! Ryuji hit me!"

Miyakawa narrowed her eyes at Kagami and to the twin-tail's horror, Miyakawa disregarded it and turned back to her prisoner. She hissed angrily, "I want to have a little chat with you."

With Ryuji's help, Miyakawa dragged the crying boy into the bullet-riddled strip club and down the stairs where the rooms were that were used for the prostitution ring. Instead of dragging him into one of them, Miyakawa took him to the furthest one down the old corridor, the one Kagami had never been in before. Kagami had no choice but to follow every step of the way despite being attacked by Ryuji. She feared the attackers returning so she scurried behind them and felt herself go numb with sickness and fear when Miyakawa opened the door and dragged the boy inside.

It was a room painted black with a single light bulb dangling from the ceiling and a wooden chair was bolted to the floor in the center of the room. The wooden chair was stained in a dark red liquid, as was the floor around it. There were several tables lining the wall that held power tools and metal devices foreign to Kagami. She had no idea she was standing in a room Miyakawa reserved to torture rivals of her drug business either for information or for entertainment.

Miyakawa strapped the bleeding boy in the chair as he continued to cry and Miyakawa whispered to her cousin. Ryuji nodded back, grabbed a stovetop pot from the table of tools and approached Kagami, who still stood frozen in fear in the doorway. He bluntly pushed her aside and he walked upstairs to fill the pot with water while Miyakawa plugged a hotplate into the wall and sat in another chair before the crying boy.

"Now then…who sent you to kill us?" Miyakawa asked with haunting intrigue.

It took several attempts but the petrified boy was finally able to tell her. "Our…our boss sent us. He want…he wants you and your cousin out…if not…there'll be a war."

To his horror, Miyakawa only smiled at the concept of a street war. Ryuji soon returned with the pot full of water and placed it on the hotplate as Miyakawa added more. "How old are you, boy?"

"I'm…I'm sixteen," he confessed.

"Sixteen years old and you're already shooting up strip clubs and pushing drugs on the streets. What would your mother say?" Miyakawa asked, still taunting him.

"My…my mama…she raised me and eight other kids on her own." He added as he deepened his cries. "I never wanted to hurt anybody! I'm only doing this for the money! My kid sister…she's starting school soon…and I just wanted to buy her new shoes! My mama…she's sick and I wanted to buy medicine for her! Hell…my oldest brother even told me he'd whip me within an inch of my life if I ever got into the drug game! I don't know who to fear the most now!"

As Kagami watched from the doorframe, she couldn't help but feel even more sympathy for the bleeding boy. She could see a bit of herself in this defenseless child. It was obvious he cared deeply about the people in his family, as did she for hers, but circumstances in life pushed them further away from them and now she truly began to see the error of her ways. Seeing a real-live version of herself strapped to a chair crying for a parent or a sibling was the beginning of a wakeup call for her as the water on the hotplate began to boil. As the water boiled, Miyakawa touched on the boy's fear reference by giving a speech she once gave to a friend of Kagami's, though of course none of them knew that.

"Only the depraved will completely rid themselves of fear. The fear of disapproval makes one strive to be a good person and a fear of being helpless gives one the motivation to seek out strength themselves. Fear is a driving force and a creator of order in the civilized world. However, the amount of fear that exists in the world far exceeds the amount of actual danger. Still, the actions of people are still motivated by fear. Fear of being caught, fear of being ostracized, fear of shame, everything you could imagine. Once you truly let go and give into the darkness, only then will you truly rid yourself of fear and know true freedom and power." Miyakawa stated with depraved confidence. "Once I learned how to let go, that's when I felt true freedom…but don't worry little boy…I'll give you freedom today, too."

The boy gulped and formed a small smile in the midst of the tears soaking his frightened face. "You're…you're gonna let me go?"

"Even better. I'm going to give you an eternity to sit in darkness and think about your sins. In the end, what I'm about to do to you is what you get when you fuck with Yuka Miyakawa!" She exclaimed and began laughing at the end.

Miyakawa stood and propped the boy's mouth open with the same device she used on Kagami during her operation and the boy's mouth was held wide and open. Miyakawa turned to the hotplate holding the large pot of boiling water and Kagami and the boy put it together. She slowly returned to the boy and Ryuji held the boy's head back by his hair and his cousin stood above the crying gunman with the pot. The last thing Kagami could hear him scream was for his mother to save him. She slowly began to tilt it until a waterfall of the boiling liquid rushed out and landed in his mouth. He screamed and gargled as the searing liquid scorched dissolved the inside of his mouth and down his throat it went, where it began to burn the flesh from the inside-out.

Kagami cried herself at what she was watching until all the boiling water fell out of the pot and down the boy's throat into his stomach, where it continued to melt away his insides. What made Kagami want to throw up the most was the fact that despite the fact that boiling water was in his body, he was still alive. The flesh covering his lower jaw was gone and Kagami could see all his teeth and red scorched flesh and Miyakawa threw the pot across the room and the two cousins exited the torture room.

Miyakawa closed the door and locked it with her keyset and turned to the sickened and crying Kagami who also had a glowing red handprint on her cheek. "Don't worry, Kagami, he'll be dead by morning. Until then though, he needs to sit there in the darkness and think about what he's done. Now smelling all that boiling water has made me hungry for spaghetti. Let's go back to my place."

Yuka Miyakawa and her cousin walked down the corridor and back upstairs to the main building of Teasers, leaving Kagami alone next to the locked door. Still crying and feeling sick, Kagami gulped and wiped her tears away. She pressed her face against the cold metal door and whispered, "I'm sorry…"

With no choice but to follow them, it seemed that reality had finally come home for Kagami as her intuition was telling her.

_Oh God…what have I gotten myself into…? I need to get out…_


	32. Chapter 32

CHAPTER 31

Kagami didn't close her eyes for more than two seconds for the rest of the night. She could still hear the gunfire. She could still hear the screams of that wounded boy. She could still see his flesh melt around his neck and throat when Miyakawa poured a full pot of boiling water down his mouth. She could also still see and feel Ryuji turning and slapping her across her face. Kagami had never been struck by another person before in her life let alone a strong young man like Ryuji and it scared her further in addition to the horrifying shootout she was caught in the center of.

As she rested on Miyakawa's lumpy couch with a smelly sheet covering her, she was finally able to start seeing her surroundings for what they really were. She had witnessed Misao Kusakabe's death firsthand, but it was a whole new ballgame to watch a girl she thought she could trust so callously take a young boy's life away and laugh while doing it. Kagami gave herself to Yuka Miyakawa. She thought that all her prostituting was helping her gain financial upper hands and she could spend her life with Miyakawa as lovers. Miyakawa was still the only person that ever told Kagami she was in love with her and that she was beautiful, but now Kagami was beginning to suspect that it was all a lie.

When the sun finally rose the next morning, Kagami's cell phone was fully charged and she scooted over to it and opened her contacts list. She immediately scrolled to Tsukasa's number and sent her a text message, still oblivious to her vicious axe attack.

_I made mistakes. Can we talk?_

Kagami knew that Tsukasa wasn't a morning person and it would probably be past noon until she would finally read it but that was the least of her concerns. The last thing Kagami remembered was she stormed out of the intervention and said truculent things to Tsukasa, including that she was expendable and easily replaced in her life by drugs. She felt immense guilt from that now and wanted to honestly make amends and even consider rehab options from Dr. Nagisa Kishimoto this time.

As Kagami stayed curled around her cell phone, she heard Yuka Miyakawa's bedroom door open and she slowly walked out rubbing the crust and smudged makeup from her face. She looked even more monstrous in the morning, but of course why would someone like her care about how society viewed her?

"Good morning, Kagami. Who are you texting?" She mumbled.

"My baby sis, Tsukasa." Kagami whimpered back, still fearful of Miyakawa.

Miyakawa formed a confused look across her face. "Tsukasa? Oh sweety…don't you know about Tsukasa by now?"

"Know what?"

Miyakawa tilted her head and chuckled slightly, disheartening Kagami a bit. Kagami saw what Miyakawa did to that teenage boy last night but still couldn't believe that she would be capable of hurting someone as innocent and pure as Tsukasa. Only someone with truly no morals and no soul would be capable of such a thing, but once again Kagami still couldn't see that that was Yuka Miyakawa in a nutshell. Still, Kagami was concerned when she saw Miyakawa chuckle over a possible news story that involved her sister.

However, before she could answer, Miyakawa's apartment door flew open and Ryuji stormed in and closed the door behind him. He was panting and was out of breath so he was obviously running from something, garnering Miyakawa's and Kagami's attention.

"Pack your shit! Pack your shit! We have to get the fuck out of here now!" Ryuji finally exclaimed, making Kagami panic as well as she breathed deeply and sweated.

Miyakawa was the only one who kept cool and snapped back, "Shut up you dildo now what the fuck are you talking about?!"

"It's Jiro! He's dead! Those fuckers killed him!" Ryuji yelled.

"Jiro? Itou's brother? The one who owns the pawn shop?" Miyakawa replied softly and still calmly.

"None other. Those gangbangers kidnapped him after their ambush on us last night and gutted him like a fucking trout! We found him hanging from a tree in Itou's backyard with his guts hanging out like Drew Barrymore in that Scream movie!" Ryuji added as he tried to calm himself.

"Wow…" Miyakawa began. "Hey I remember that movie that was a good one. Remember that scene where the killer slit the fat cameraman open and put his body on the news van so when that reporter turned the headlights on the windshield was covered in blood? That was hot."

"Didn't you hear a fucking word I just said, Yuka?!" Ryuji exclaimed. "The gangbangers have declared war, just like what that damn kid was talking about last night! We have to get the fuck out of here! They have us outmanned and outgunned!"

"Get your balls together, Ryuji!" Miyakawa finally yelled and sucker punched her cousin in his groin, making in yelp and fall like a stone as the frightened Kagami watched with watering eyes. "Now look, none of us are going anywhere. This is just a tit-for-tat between us. All we have to do is stand our ground and show them we're not gonna blink. This is our territory. We were here first and if we want to push drugs or fuck clients for more cash we're going to do just that."

"Yuka, I want out! I want to go home!" Kagami finally cried as this was more than she could take.

Miyakawa and the groaning Ryuji turned their heads to Kagami. Miyakawa smiled which frightened Kagami given the circumstances and replied in a sweet voice, "What makes you say that, baby?"

"I can't take it anymore! I don't want to be involved in killing people! Besides, this rash on my privates is getting worse and I think it's an STD! I don't want to do drugs anymore! I don't want to have sex with strangers anymore! I want to go home and be with my baby sister! I know I'll have to go through horrible withdrawal and pain and guilt but I'll endure it all if I can be with my family again!" Kagami wailed her eyes out.

Miyakawa's stone cold face illustrated no pity for Kagami's rekindling old self. Instead, she slowly shook her head. "You do not have my permission to leave us, Kagami."

Kagami felt her heart pound in unremitting fear of Yuka Miyakawa. She stuttered before she was able to reply, "Wha…what was that?"

"I said you cannot leave us, Kagami. You're my property now." Miyakawa added with a darkening tone as Ryuji slowly stood again while rubbing his groin as his cousin continued. "That 'special spot' between your legs is _my_ property now and _my_ cash cow. Everything about you belongs to me to use and abuse as I see fit."

Kagami was able to form a tear-soaked glare at Miyakawa. "I'm not your toy, Yuka! I'm a human with freewill and I'm going home right now to be with Tsukasa again!"

Miyakawa grinned again. "Oh Kagami…Tsukasa is dead."

A thousand daggers struck Kagami's heart when she heard this. She couldn't believe it. She wouldn't believe it. "No, Yuka, you're wrong! My sister is fine!"

Before any of them could reply, Kagami's cell phone began vibrating. She had received a text message and she turned and dove for the phone as the two cousins watched. Kagami nearly ripped her phone in two when she opened it and saw who it was who texted her. She quickly turned and showed Miyakawa the screen.

"See, Tsukasa just texted me! She's fine!" Kagami cried happily and read the message.

_I'm not allowed to talk to you anymore, sis._

Confused and scared by the message, Kagami began typing her reply hoping for an explanation while Miyakawa stood dumbfounded. She could've sworn that Kagami did her own sister in with that axe, as well as the rest of her family but it was clear that she was wrong. Miyakawa was a girl who always hated to be wrong or to lose, so she felt the anger boiling inside of her. Her paranoia made her believe that this was her older sister's doing just to spite her. To keep the Hiiragi family safe while laughing at her as she wastes away in the drug world. After more than a decade of unrelenting anger and hatred fueled by her rape, prostitution, drugs, and violence, Yuka Miyakawa truly and honestly believed she was at war with her sister.

Miyakawa quickly snatched the phone out of Kagami's hands before she could send the message, grabbing the oldest Hiiragi twin's attention. "Give that back, Yuka!"

"Like I said, Kagami, you're my property. Everything about you belongs to me." Miyakawa replied with a smile and a wink.

"I said give that back!" Kagami exclaimed and dashed forward with the intent to physically assault Miyakawa.

Ryuji however was there to stop it all. He latched onto her long hair and used it as a weapon of Kagami's own undoing and threw her into the kitchen, where she collided with the table and knocked over pots and pans for cooking drugs. Before she could stand, Ryuji stormed in with clear anger on his face and he grabbed Kagami by her head and slammed it against a pantry door, dazing her before slapping her across her cheeks as she yelped and cried in pain.

Miyakawa slowly walked in and saw her cousin beating Kagami senseless as she cried for mercy until she announced, "Enough!"

Like a dog obeying its master, Ryuji took several steps back and revealed the crying and battered Kagami Hiiragi curled in a ball on the dirty kitchen floor. She was trembling relentlessly as she slowly looked up with eyes that screamed pure terror and fright. Her cheeks were black and blue as was her left eye, her nose was bleeding, and her lip was swelling. She held her hands up with her palms facing towards them, both as a sign of surrender and a plea for mercy.

As she cried, Miyakawa giggled and bent down to her, Kagami flinching with each movement until they were face-to-face. Miyakawa stared at Kagami with a small grin until she said, "Let that be a lesson to you, Kagami. You're a part of our world now…forever. The only way out is death."

Her words were nearly inaudible but Kagami was able to whimper through her swollen lips, "You…you said…anytime…I wanted out…I could…"

"Oh yeah, about that. I lied." Miyakawa giggled again, creating a more gut-wrenching look of fear on Kagami's face. "I also lied about you being beautiful and wanting to spend my life with you. Look at yourself, Kagami. You're a soiled, disease-ridden slut that could even stand to drop fifty pounds. No one in their right mind would _ever_ want to touch you let alone stand by your side and be your man. We're the only ones you've got. Without us…you'll die in the streets. I'll make sure of it."

Kagami's tears flowed down her discolored cheeks again and she tried to cower away from Miyakawa. The depraved girl outstretched her hand and placed it on Kagami's head, making her jump and tremble beneath the touch. Miyakawa gently rubbed her head and smiled a teeth-rearing smirk as she reveled in the fear and pain she brought Kagami. She lowered her mouth to her ear to further dig herself into Kagami's psyche.

"Aw…look at you. Bruised, bloody, beaten, and crying. You look just like I did when I first lost my virginity." Miyakawa whispered heinously and pulled away from Kagami's ear.

Kagami was so scared she barely remembered the one-on-one conversation she had with Dr. Kishimoto where she was informed that Yuka Miyakawa was raped by her uncle at age nine, turning her into the monster that stood before her today. Miyakawa stood again and slid Kagami's cell phone in her pocket and Ryuji turned to her.

"What do you want to do with her?" He asked.

"Take her to Teasers. I have her booked for prostitution from now until sundown. That's more than twelve hours of fucking so I hope you got plenty of rest last night, Kagami. And don't worry, they all like it rough so all you have to do is cry like you are now since you'll be doing plenty of that today." Miyakawa laughed hysterically and Ryuji bent down, grabbed Kagami by her hair again, and pulled the crying girl up and led her out the apartment door to take her to Teasers where he'd freshen her up with makeup to cover the bruises before throwing her to the animals again.

When Miyakawa was alone again, she pulled Kagami's cell phone out of her pocket and looked at the message Kagami was about to send to Tsukasa.

_Why not? What did I do? I want help and_

Miyakawa deleted the message and just as she was about to destroy the cell phone, she came up with a plan so evil that only her Machiavellian mind could possibly concoct it. With no sense of what she was about to do to the Hiiragi family forever, she opened the cell phone again and readied to text Tsukasa. The ideas she had in her mind; not even the darkest demon including Satan himself would be able to fathom such rancor evil that Yuka Miyakawa was about to bring to Kagami's family's doorstep, especially for Tsukasa. If Tsukasa would fall into it, she too would be forever lost like her big sister.

"If Kagami loves you so much, little Tsukasa, I say it's time for you and I to meet face-to-face…and for you to join us…forever…" She laughed evilly as she started typing her reply for Tsukasa.

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Tsukasa watched with broken eyes at the police officers walking through her home from the backyard. She never would've believed that her family would have to become one of those families where police were always called but it was now a concrete reality for her. Some of the officers even knew her family members' names by heart now ever since Kagami first went crazy and attacked them after Tsukasa discovered her sister performing oral sex on a client in her bedroom. Now she simply sat in a lawn chair outside holding another stuffed animal tight and waited for the police and insurance claims specialists to leave. A man and a woman dressed in professional attire with shirts and ties also accompanied Miki and Tadao Hiiragi around their home surveying the damage Kagami had created with her axe.

It was going to be a lengthy and expensive recovery process but the two Hiiragi parents had good relationships with their home insurance provider. They would pay for most of the damage barring personal artifacts such as family pictures that Kagami destroyed in her rampage. The police also took their statements and promised to write their reports. No one had to tell Tsukasa this but the police had no choice but to issue an arrest warrant for Kagami now. High on drugs or not, she still attacked her family with a deadly weapon and was loose in the streets somewhere. The police had no choice but assume worst case scenario and assume that she was still high on whatever it was that made her go insane like that and find her as quickly as possible.

Of course, Tsukasa immediately became fearful when she received a text message from her sister only a few minutes ago. It was a simple but true statement followed by an even simpler request. All she wanted to do was talk but Tsukasa remembered her mother and father's words in the aftermath of Kagami's axe attack. Tsukasa and Inori were both forbidden to talk to Kagami until the police could detain her. Despite that firm order, Tsukasa was once again caught between a rock and a hard place. She still couldn't deny the fact that she still loved Kagami and wanted to see her in rehab over a jail cell, but what happened the other day was nothing short of horrendous.

Tsukasa still dreamt of Kagami chasing her with that axe and even succeeding in hacking her to pieces with it, making her scream herself awake. Still, she sat in her chair with her stuffed giraffe and held her phone. She stared at the phone, still waiting for a response, if any, after she texted her sister and told her they couldn't speak anymore. Because Tsukasa was who she was, she still somehow felt guilty about being "too harsh" to her sister, at least in her own mind she was.

When her phone vibrated again, she nearly jumped in subconscious anticipation and she found herself quite surprised to see herself so excited to read it.

_I know what I did was horrible, but I want to change. I want to go to rehab. I need your help_._ I apologize for attacking you like that._

Tsukasa was initially overjoyed to read this but her newfound cautious persona stopped her from replying with haste. She looked up again at her parents through the window and saw them bow to the police officers as they were about to leave. The youngest Hiiragi twin gulped as she was already disobeying Miki and Tadao just by sending the first reply to her but Tsukasa was a never-ending abundance of optimism. Still feeling uncomfortable with this occurrence, Tsukasa still typed her retort and sent it.

_You've broken promises to me and lied to me before, sis. I can't take it anymore._

Tsukasa quickly closed her phone and hid it under her stuffed giraffe as Miki opened the sliding glass door and called, "Tsukasa, breakfast is ready."

"Coming, mom." Tsukasa called back and Miki closed the door again.

She knew she could only keep up this charade for so long and as she slowly walked back to the house, her phone vibrated again and read the message.

_I know Tsukasa and I'm so sorry. I love you and I know you have no reason to believe me but at least meet me for lunch so I can at least see you again._

Tsukasa would be lying to herself now if she said that she had no interest in at least seeing Kagami again. No matter how hard she fought it, she was nothing but the complete definition and essence of love on two legs. Still, her intuition was telling her that something was still amiss here. The last time the twins were together one of them was trying to butcher the other with an axe and now she wanted to go to rehab just like that. On the other side though, Tsukasa could almost make her own connection. Maybe the full reality of what she did to her and the Hiiragi home had sunk in and Kagami could see how truly debauched she had become.

Regardless, Tsukasa still had to think about it so she stashed her phone in her pocket again and entered her home. Sitting at their dinner table scarred with axe chops and being held up by a phonebook and several magazines, the broken family sat around and began to eat breakfast in yet another sea of awkward silence. They all saw the axe wounds in their walls, floors, and furniture yet they desperately wanted to ignore them yet it proved difficult as they were also eating on them as well.

"The…the insurance company says that…we won't have to pay too much out of pocket." Miki uttered, trying to breathe some kind of life into her family again.

Inori took a glass of orange juice and drank it slowly, almost fearful of quick movements in the quiet setting. She sat the glass back down and replied, "That's nice, mom."

Silence once again returned to the breakfast table and Tsukasa sighed, grabbing their attention. She cleared her throat and mumbled, "I…I have a question…"

"What is it, Tsukasa?" Tadao asked.

The family could see something was truly irking the youngest member and her initial muttering confirmed it for them. Tsukasa was eventually able to say, "What if…Kagami texted me…and says she wants to go to rehab now?"

Tadao immediately became impatient. "Tsukasa, have you been communicating with Kagami after what your mother and I told you?"

"She…she texted me this morning. She said she wants help. She wants to go to rehab and she admitted what she did was wrong." Tsukasa quickly retorted in a slight panic for disobeying her parents.

Tadao sighed. "She admitted that what she did was wrong? That's a bit of an understatement, don't you think? She tried to kill you."

"That wasn't my sis who did that. I could see it in her eyes." Tsukasa whimpered. "It was…those icky drugs…that made her do it. She wants help, daddy. Can't we do something?"

He shook his head. "I'm afraid not, Tsukasa. What she did was inexcusable and she's dangerous, even when she's not acting like it. We have to step aside now and let the police deal with this. If they catch her then we can go from there but it'll all depends on how much she'll cooperate with the police."

Tsukasa lowered her head. "Forgive me for disobeying you…but she's still my twin sister. I love her."

Miki and Inori hugged Tsukasa to show her love and Tadao sighed again. He couldn't stay angry at Tsukasa for loving her family too much. He took a breath and replied, "Tsukasa, you have to promise me that you won't talk to her or go near her anymore. Let the police do their work and if Kagami is being truthful, she'll either give herself up to them or cooperate if they find her."

Tsukasa couldn't argue with her father's logic and she promised to not get further involved in Kagami's decrepit affairs. Just as she promised him this though, she felt her cell phone vibrate again in her pocket. It seemed that Kagami sent another message to her and Tsukasa finished her breakfast quickly and excused herself to go to the bathroom. When she was secluded in the locked room, she opened her phone and saw that Kagami sent her both a message and a picture. When Tsukasa saw it, she felt like crying.

It was the same picture of Tsukasa and Kagami together in their swimsuits during the vacation they took to the beach with Konata Izumi, Miyuki Takara, Yui Narumi, and Nanako Kuroi. The twins were hugging each other and smiling happily on the beach and the pixilated image was a perfect window back in time to an era of innocence and harmony. The era that Tsukasa desperately wanted back. The message in it also tugged at Tsukasa's heartstrings.

_I miss you. I miss us. I need you, baby sissy. Please help me. I'll do what I can for Miyuki, too. Please I beg you, don't leave me alone._

Tsukasa wiped a tear away and continued to consider meeting her sister. What could be the harm in it? Everything Tsukasa saw so far that came from her sister's phone seemed legit and heartfelt with feelings and nostalgic love. Maybe her sister truly was turning herself around and all she needed was a little bit extra motivation and support from Tsukasa. The youngest Hiiragi twin took a deep breath and feeling a rush of both shame and optimism, she texted back.

_Okay I'll meet with you but you have to turn yourself into the police afterward. They're looking for you. If you love me and mean everything you said, you'll do that for me. After, I'll be with you every step of the way._

Tsukasa sent the text message and felt her heart beat rapidly within her petite body. She also gulped and waited in great anticipation for her sister's response. Every second that passed by was like a punch to the head and it was slow and agonizing but when her phone vibrated again, she ripped it open and read the response.

_Okay I will. Just please let me see you one more time before I turn myself in. Please meet me at the French café near the Aku District at noon. I love you, baby sis._

Fighting back the urge to cry again, Tsukasa sealed the deal and promised to be at the café to meet Kagami and hug her one last time before Kagami would turn herself into the police. Tsukasa was so happy she was ready to start dancing but held it all in and saved all her energy for her sister. Everything she told Kagami was going to be the truth. She would stand by her sister every step of the way whether it was through a criminal trial for her attack on Miyuki Takara and her axe rampage, or if it was through rehab.

Tsukasa was already making plans to help Kagami. She would visit with Miyuki's parents and do her best to persuade them to not press criminal charges but rather agree to a plea deal. They would drop the jail time for Kagami in exchange for her completing rehab. Tsukasa would do the same for her family. Of course they would object to her meeting Kagami in broad daylight so she had no choice but to disobey them one more time but she saw it as an investment. If Kagami was going to turn herself in and Tsukasa would be able to tell them it was her who helped her sister, her family would go easy on both of them.

As the hours wore on and the time approached for Tsukasa to leave and meet Kagami, activity around the house continued to be sporadic. Tadao retreated to the shrine to clean it, Miki cleaned the kitchen, and Inori attended the house's garden outside. Feeling butterflies in her stomach, Tsukasa walked past her mother.

"Mom, I'm gonna go hang out with Kona-chan for awhile, okay?" Tsukasa weakly said and tried to make her lie sound convincing.

"Be back in time for dinner and have fun, sweetheart." Miki replied as she scrubbed the sink with her back facing her daughter.

Tsukasa said goodbye again and left the house. She saw Inori in her gardening clothes while also wearing a sunhat and watering the flowerbeds. As Tsukasa walked past her, Inori kept watering when she said, "Give Kagami my best."

The youngest Hiiragi twin froze in her steps and she showed a look of panic projecting forward into space. She stood and breathed deeply trying to calm herself as Inori sat the watering can down and took off her gloves. As she approached her sister, Tsukasa snapped herself out of her trance and turned.

"How did…how did…?" She stuttered.

"Oh come on, Tsukasa. I'm the oldest sister so I've been around the block a few times. You know you can't hide anything from me. The second you brought up Kagami at breakfast I knew you were going to see her. But don't worry, I won't tell mom and dad." Inori replied with a small smile and wink.

"You…you mean that…that you support me doing this…even after what Kagami did to me and our house?" Tsukasa asked with intrigue.

Inori was reluctant to answer at first but she owed Tsukasa an explanation for her choice to not rat her out so she came clean. "Look, Tsukasa, I've been having sessions with Dr. Kishimoto too and I believe what Kagami is doing is truly not her fault. Addiction is a disease and I know _our_ Kagami would _never_ even think about doing such things to us let alone actually chasing us with an axe. You two are twins so just by that you already know more about Kagami than I do so go get our sis back. We already lost one sister to a horrible accident, now you bring this one back from the darkness. You've come a long way since the days I was helping mom change your diapers, Tsukasa, and I love you and I'm so proud of you."

Tsukasa once again found herself fighting back the tears and she quickly hugged Inori while whispering, "Thank you…"

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The butterflies in her stomach felt like they were on a rollercoaster ride as Tsukasa sat alone at the foreign café not too far away from the troubled district. She sat with a latte sitting next to her and she twiddled her thumbs anxiously and even nervously. Tsukasa glanced at her wristwatch and saw it was five minutes until noon and she kept looking around for Kagami. She couldn't see her sister in the crowd of people passing by on the sidewalks but still kept hope alive in her heart and mind that her twin sister would make good on her promise to see her and then turn herself into the police.

To kill time, Tsukasa pulled her pink cell phone out again and began to look through all the pictures of her and Kagami together again. It was a wonderful trip down memory lane and it reminded her only of the good times. Now that she was out of high school, the whole experience felt like a dream. With some memories fading from her cognitive projector, she also couldn't help but feel envious for her other friends in Yutaka Kobayakawa, Minami Iwasaki, Hiyori Tamura, and Patricia Martin.

Those four girls were still in high school, a time that in retrospect seemed to be the easiest years of Tsukasa's life. Ever since she graduated, her life was dealt one blow after another. Her big sister was tragically taken away in a car accident, a friend of Kagami's also died, and now her very idol collapsed. Everything about high school seemed so much easier compared to the small taste of reality Tsukasa was forced to swallow so far. Now she truly understood the meaning of the phrase, "you never know what you have until it's gone" and that could be said for everything from high school to Matsuri and even Kagami. More than anything, the end of high school for her also meant the end of something else that was very precious to her, which she didn't even know existed until it too died with her graduation.

Innocence.

"Um…excuse me…is your name Tsukasa Hiiragi by any chance?" A female's voice from behind Tsukasa surprised the youngest Hiiragi daughter.

Tsukasa quickly turned and looked up at a girl standing above her. She had dyed blonde hair with a newly added blue stripe in it, pale flesh, a bit of black eye shadow around her eyes, red lipstick, and was dressed strangely. She wore black boots with purple and black stripped knee-high socks, a purple skirt that drifted around the border of the socks, and a purple crop top with an image of a black bird on it. She did however have a sincere and bright smile on her face which put Tsukasa at ease.

"Why…yes I am. I'm sorry…but I don't think we've ever met before." Tsukasa replied politely.

"Yes I'm afraid not but allow me to introduce myself. My name is Yuka Miyakawa. I'm a friend of your sister's. Kagami's." Miyakawa replied sweetly.

Tsukasa's guard was completely down now. "You know my sis? We're supposed to meet here to talk."

Miyakawa nodded. "Yes I know. You see, your sister isn't feeling well now and sent me to tell you and bring you to her."

Tsukasa's eyes grew a bit. "Sis isn't feeling well? Why didn't she text me or something?"

Miyakawa shrugged with confidence. "I guess because she trusts you and because she trusts me. Kagami was also throwing up a bit and she was going on and on about wanting to get clean and that you were coming. She wanted me to meet you here and take you to her. Your sister has long hair divided into twin pigtails and is what we otakus refer to as a tsundere."

For some reason, Tsukasa's sixth sense was telling her that something was also amiss about this girl. She couldn't put her finger on it but something was telling her not to trust her and even stand and run away. Still, Miyakawa knew details about Kagami that only her friends knew, like her hairstyle and Tsukasa felt a little more at ease when she said tsundere just like Konata. Tsukasa tried to keep an open mind about this girl's overall appearance since she always kept an open mind for Konata in the past and decided to trust this girl identifying herself as Yuka Miyakawa.

Tsukasa stood and followed the smiling girl, whose tone was also soft and smooth, just like Miyuki's or her mother's. The two girls walked side-by-side into the decrepit part of town that was responsible for Kagami's entire downfall and Miyakawa led Tsukasa down an alternate path. To keep Tsukasa calm and unsuspecting of what she was walking into, Miyakawa kept asking her questions about herself and was able to get her to open up about a few topics. What won Tsukasa over with regards to how she felt about Miyakawa was when the acting psychopath innocently confessed that she still slept with a stuffed cat at night.

After walking for twenty minutes and talking about mindless topics, Miyakawa and Tsukasa arrived at a brick building's rear entrance. Miyakawa unlocked the door with a key and opened the door, allowing Tsukasa to walk in first into the dark hallway. As the youngest Hiiragi twin walked in, she had no idea what building she was in. She was in the dressing room of Teasers but this wasn't her ultimate destination. Her setup was waiting for her in the bottom level where all the rooms were stretched throughout a moldy corridor and where also Kagami was and being held down and forced to perform acts on clients.

"Um…Miyakawa-san…where are we?" Tsukasa innocently asked as she turned and looked at the girl, who was still looking outside as she closed the door slowly.

"Well, Tsukasa, now that you're here…I can finally fulfill all my fantasies. How lovely." Miyakawa replied while forming a toothy grin of unprecedented evil and Tsukasa's still oblivious face suddenly disappeared behind the rusty iron door and the psychotic girl locked it. No one was around to hear Tsukasa's screams.

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Lunch time came and went, as did the rest of the afternoon around Saitama. With the evening fast approaching, Inori finished helping her father attend the shrine and as the two walked side-by-side, the oldest Hiiragi daughter couldn't help but glance at her watch. It was quickly approaching dinner time and Tsukasa still wasn't home yet. To Inori, this could be both a good or a bad sign. It could be good in the theory that maybe Tsukasa walked with Kagami to the police station and was supporting her decision to hand herself over to the authorities. However, it unfortunately had more potential to be bad. Anything could've happened to Tsukasa even with barring Kagami from the picture.

When Inori and Tadao returned to their house, Miki was busy setting the table and Inori could see her mother glancing at the kitchen clock every few seconds wondering the same thing she was. Both Miki and Tadao were still oblivious to the earlier actions Tsukasa had taken and Inori was becoming more scared. She hadn't heard from Tsukasa at all since she left the house in the early afternoon.

"Tsukasa still hasn't come home yet?" Tadao asked with curiosity. "That's not like her."

"Yes that is quite unusual for her but at least she's with friends." Miki replied.

As Miki brought a large plate of food to the table, the house phone began ringing, prompting Miki to walk towards it. "That's probably her. She probably just lost track of time; now that sounds like her."

Tadao and Inori giggled to themselves and Inori felt a brief wave of relief. That did indeed sound like a habit of Tsukasa's so she wasted no more time in passing food around. She assembled herself a salad but when Miki quickly returned and showed her face, Inori and Tadao knew there was something wrong. The look on Miki's face illustrated everything.

"That was Konata-chan on the phone. She was calling hoping to speak to Tsukasa. Tsukasa told me earlier today she was going to visit Konata-chan." Miki tried to hide her rising level of panic.

Without further hesitation, Tadao stood and took the landline phone from Miki's hand and dialed Tsukasa's cell phone number. He was determined to get to the bottom of this once and for all. With every passing dial tone however, both his frustration and worriment rose. As Miki inched closer to her husband, she finally heard a girl's voice on the other side but when Tadao formed a perplexed look of his own, she knew something was still wrong.

Miki heard the beep on the other side but Tadao quickly hung up with an even more puzzled and worried look. "Well who was it? Was it Tsukasa?" Miki asked with haste.

"Uh…no. It was somebody else. It was another girl's voice. Here, I'll call again and you can listen." Tadao replied and dialed the number again.

Miki took the phone and put it to her ear. When she saw Inori also come close with intrigue, Miki took the phone away and put it on speaker. The three Hiiragi family members huddled around the phone and stared at it as the dial tones kept coming until the outgoing message picked up.

"You have reached Tsukasa Hiiragi's phone and she is unable to answer your call right now. Please leave a message at the beep and she'll receive your message as soon as I cut it into her flesh!" The girl's voice said and started laughing hysterically until it beeped.

The voice belonged to Yuka Miyakawa.


	33. Chapter 33

CHAPTER 32

Feeling an immense sense of pride incomparable to any other misdeed she ever had committed in the past, Yuka Miyakawa slowly exited the room reserved for prisoners underneath Teasers a day after she brought a "guest" back to see Kagami, though this "guest" never saw her sister. She kept this new frightened and distraught guest as her prisoner for nearly twenty-four hours now and the mental torture didn't stop once. As soon as she exited the room, she closed the large iron door and locked it as water dripping from the moldy ceiling splashed all around her, adding more of a truly decrepit and putrid visual to the already dank setting. She continued to giggle to herself as she stood and realized her hands were still coated in a fresh red liquid. The depraved sociopath took a handkerchief out of her back pocket and wiped the liquid away. She was disappointed this liquid wasn't blood because she craved its taste again.

Miyakawa heard a familiar sound come from one of the rooms. She glanced down the hallway and could hear Kagami crying and screaming in agony and her only response was to laugh. Miyakawa slowly strolled over to the door Kagami was behind and waited a few more minutes until the doorknob turned and nine young men waltzed out, one of them fixing his zipper over his pants.

"How was she?" Miyakawa asked with a conniving smile, her arms folded across her chest, and leaning against the moldy cement wall.

The young men laughed and one of them said, "Best fuck in awhile for us."

"We may be the local baseball team, but I think we were all the pitchers tonight and she was the catcher!" Another laughed.

"I never thought one girl would be able to handle an entire sports team but goddamn she proved us wrong!" A third one added with a satisfied smirk.

Miyakawa nodded with a giggle. "Anyway hope to see you boys back here soon. Enjoy her anytime you want."

The baseball team agreed to come back for Kagami again one day and left the underground hallway and Miyakawa looked into the room. It had a grim and grotesque setup like the rest of them with a single dirty mattress in the middle of an empty room, where Kagami was resting on. To make the setup even more horrifying, her left arm was shackled to the wall with the rusty metal cuff holding her wrist tight as she panted and sweated on the mattress, a single stained and tattered sheet covering her naked body. For more than entire day, Miyakawa had Kagami chained to this wall and she suffered through rounds of forced prostitution one right after another and it never stopped. To keep her mental torture of Kagami alive, Miyakawa only gave her one meal within the last day and no drugs so Kagami was not only suffering through the prostitution, she was also suffering through the withdrawal as she was being forced into the acts.

Miyakawa entered the room and stood above her and looked down at Kagami. The ailing Hiiragi twin was sweating and flushed everywhere as she cried on the mattress and when she saw Miyakawa standing above her with a small grin, Kagami buried her face in the rotten cushion and wailed louder. Hearing Kagami's sorrowful yelps and watching her tremble only sent waves of pulsating euphoria throughout Miyakawa's hollowed corpse of a living body and she slowly bent down and reached out. She stroked Kagami's head, making her tremble harder.

"Aw…I'm sorry, Kagami. Jocks are the worst, aren't they? They have no respect for the fragility of your womanhood. I bet they tore you up pretty good down there. I bet it looks like a blood-covered train wreck. And you thought you were ugly before…" Miyakawa taunted with a grin.

Kagami slowly showed her face again and through her tear-drenched eyes, she uttered, "…Why…Yuka…why? Why are you…doing this…to me…? I want…to go…home…"

"Oh my precious Kagami…you are home." Miyakawa laughed again. "There's no escape."

Kagami tightened a glare on her face and grinded her teeth as Miyakawa pulled her hand away from stroking the twin-tailed Hiiragi. "You can't keep me here forever. You can't keep your eyes on me at all times. The very second you let your guard down, I'm going to make a run for it and tell the police everything, even if I'm arrested too for all that I've done."

To Kagami's never-ending horror when dealing with Miyakawa, she deepened her smile. "You're right, Kagami. Sooner or later, I will let my guard down and you'll escape me. But I must warn you, Kagami, I know where you live and I know the faces of everyone in your family and your friends thanks to your phone. If you try to escape me, the next time you'll see your family, I will hang them all from the Torii of your family's shrine. Also, I will find that blue-haired midget and mail her to you…one piece at a time."

Kagami's once budding anger was wiped clean again. She knew Miyakawa was telling the truth because how else would she know that Kagami's family lived near a shrine? Also taking into consideration what she did to that teenage boy the other night with the boiling water, Kagami also knew Miyakawa wasn't bluffing when she promised to murder her family. If anything, the Hiiragi family would unfortunately count themselves lucky if all Miyakawa did to them was hang them. Kagami also had no choice but to assume worst case scenario when Miyakawa also told her she knew who her friends were, too as she just demonstrated with Konata.

"You're a monster, Yuka. Coming to you and Ryuji was the biggest mistake I ever made…" Kagami cried softly again. "How can you do this to innocent people…?"

Miyakawa huffed. "There are no innocent people in this world, Kagami. We're all guilty of something whether we know it or not. If there were innocent people in the world, places like this wouldn't exist now would they?"

Silence was Kagami's only response until she requested, "Let me go…I want to see my sister, Tsukasa."

Miyakawa did her best to try and hide her deep satisfied smile, which would tell Kagami she was once again up to no good. Miyakawa rose to her feet again and replied, "Oh I have a feeling you two will reunite soon enough…and it'll be a reunion to remember. Now get ready, your next customer is waiting…and keep crying; it's sexy. I also heard he's into that 'father-daughter' role-playing shit so make sure you call him daddy and enjoy! And don't forget, you also have to dance tonight…or I'll kill you!"

Miyakawa pranced happily out of the room, just as another middle-aged man came down the rickety steps and met Miyakawa. He was around Tadao Hiiragi's age with graying hair and wrinkles, as well as several moles around his face and he asked, "Is she ready?"

"Chained and crying like a scared little girl. Go make your daughter feel better!" Miyakawa exclaimed while keeping her smile and the man nodded.

Miyakawa watched him enter the room and slam the door shut again, sealing him inside with Kagami and the depraved girl giggled again and rejoined the rest of the action upstairs in Teasers.

Ryuji was attending the bar as their boss in Itou Shiraki was busy taking care of his deceased brother though both men were unhappy with Miyakawa's recent antics. Still, Miyakawa felt a never-ending rush of adrenaline and power that mirrored her drug addiction and she stripped down. She stripped out of her skirt and top, revealing her lingerie underneath and before she would hit the poles again, she could see Ryuji wanted a word with her as he was waving at her from across the club.

Miyakawa maneuvered through the sordid atmosphere past whistling and hooting customers as they sat and watched other girls Miyakawa had corrupted dance and perform other acts for them until she sat at the bar. Disregarding her cousin's anger, Miyakawa leaned forward and snapped, "Vodka. Straight. I want a little buzz before I dance and show these pathetic deadbeats my fun bags."

Ryuji on the other hand glared at his cousin and shook his head. "What the hell were you thinking kidnapping that Hiiragi girl like that?! It's bad enough we've got those fucking gangbangers hunting our asses now you kidnapped Kagami's sister?! Cops are going to be all over this district now looking for her since they believe she just came to visit Kagami!"

Miyakawa wasn't worried about her cousin's flustered outburst since the heavy music and female distractions kept any potential prying eyes and ears off them. She shrugged and replied casually with no remorse, "Trust me, my precious cousin. Everything I do is part of a plan."

"Is spending the next twenty-five to life behind bars part of your plan? That's twenty-five to life if we're lucky! I wouldn't be surprised if the cops that just shot us on the spot when they find us. You especially!" Ryuji snapped back.

"Call it…an insurance policy. Kagami will continue to resist us until I'm either forced to kill her or she kills herself…or worst case scenario she does escape and makes it home. Before any of that happens though…all that I'm doing downstairs with Tsukasa is going to keep Kagami from ratting us out to any cocksucking cops. Kagami needs to know that no matter where she goes and no matter how hard she tries…I will _always_ be able to touch her and the ones she loves." Miyakawa informed with a grin towards the end.

Ryuji sighed and shook his head again. "Is Tsukasa even still alive down there?"

Miyakawa's face remained unchanged. "Define alive."

"Yuka!"

"Yes, she's alive. More or less alive. I don't know she looked like she was ready to have a seizure in there when I gave her a choice between getting a tattoo, a hot-iron brand, or a slashed throat." Miyakawa replied and even laughed a bit as she reminisced about her hour long session with her prisoner downstairs. "By the way…does Itou still have that chainsaw in the storage closet? I'm going to need to borrow it for my next little chat with Tsukasa."

Ryuji projected both a perplexed and even disgusted face at his cousin. Still fearful of her though, he reluctantly answered, "I…I think so. Just answer me this at least. Are you going to kill them when you're done with them?"

Miyakawa slowly lowered her head and allowed her colored bangs to cover her face. Her mouth was still visible and Ryuji inadvertently gulped when he saw her form her trademark sadistic grin and reply, "Define kill…"

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Since her violent attack by one of her closest friends, Miyuki Takara had undergone another surgery to try and fix her eyes but the outlook for took a grim turn towards the end. The glass shards still lodged in her left eyeball had caused irreversible damage to the retinas and the doctors couldn't remove them in time. Miyuki was now permanently blind in one eye. To keep the infection in her eyeball from spreading to either her other eye or to her brain, the surgeons had to remove it from her head altogether.

Konata Izumi arrived at the hospital with a bundle of flowers later that day, though she had to admit that she was torn on going at all. In reality, there was no good news or words of encouragement Konata could give Miyuki that could possibly make her feel better and now to make matters worse, Tsukasa was missing and the Hiiragi family was an official wreck just like their home. Of course, Miyuki also knew that it was Kagami who attacked her and yet she still had no explanation as to why. Everyone knew that Miyuki only had the best intentions for Kagami when she first let her into her home but Konata couldn't even begin to comprehend how Miyuki's parents broke the news to her about her eye and that she wouldn't be going to school in France.

The blue-haired girl knocked on Miyuki's door gently, almost reluctantly and when she heard the soft and weak voice reply, "Come in," she knew she had no choice but to pursue. Konata slowly opened the door and saw Miyuki Takara sitting in her bed with a series of white bandages wrapped around her head and covering her left eye. She closed a book and sat it down and Konata felt a little better about this unexpected visit when she saw her battered friend form a small smile.

"Konata-san…what a pleasant surprise." Miyuki whispered with her usual sweet tone that everyone missed.

Konata smiled back and saw the other bundles of flowers surrounding her other side of the hospital bed along with balloons, stuffed animals, and a few boxes of candies. Konata cleared her throat and said, "I brought you these flowers but it looks like you already have enough presents to even put the gift shop on the ground floor out of business."

Miyuki giggled slightly. "Thank you very much. I'm just so grateful to be surrounded by so many people who love me. Minami-chan even bought me a box of genuine French chocolates online and had them delivered to my room here. They were so delicious."

The blue-haired otaku nodded and placed her recent addition of flowers along with the rest and sat down next to Miyuki. "How are you feeling, Miyuki-san?"

"I'm still a little woozy from the surgery medication, but I'm okay. The doctors said that I'll be able to keep my right eye so I'm so grateful for that, too." Miyuki answered. "Thank you for visiting me, Konata-san."

"You're welcome, Miyuki." Konata replied softly.

Konata tried her best to listen to every word and tone that was spoken within them and was searching. She tried to search for any hints or euphemisms that projected any kind of anger or resentment towards either Kagami or the world for letting such an awful fate bestow itself onto her. However, Konata only grew more and more surprised when she couldn't find anything vicious in Miyuki's voice. Miyuki still spoke as if she wasn't attacked at all and that she was still going to France. What Miyuki asked next only further baffled Konata yet it still somehow didn't entirely surprise her.

"Please tell me, Konata-san…how is Kagami-san? Is she okay? Is she safe?" Miyuki asked once again with sincerity and genuine concern for her attacker.

"Mi…Miyuki…" Konata stuttered. "She…she attacked you. She did this to you. She's the reason why you are here and why you're not going to…why are you concerned about her?!"

Miyuki sighed. "Kagami-san…she isn't well. What she has…addiction is an illness and she's suffering, too. No matter what I still see her as my friend and I want her to get better."

Konata slowly shook her head. "How do you do it, Miyuki?"

"Do what?"

"How are you able to still be yourself despite all that has happened to you?" Konata asked, still unable to comprehend everything Miyuki said earlier. "If it was the average person, I believe they would be demanding that the police hunt Kagami down, throw her in jail and send the key to the moon."

Miyuki slowly shook her head. "No, Konata-san, I could never feel that way about Kagami-san. To answer your question about how I can still be myself…I can only say one thing regarding such a notion. Life is beautiful…and it's too short to carry around your grudges and hate for your fellow humans, especially your friends. I can also still be myself despite all that I have lost because I can still count all that I still have. I may have lost my left eye, but I still have my right and I can still read my books, I'm surrounded by all my friends and I can see how much they care about me, and when I see gestures like you simply coming to visit me, I can only see the good and the beauty in this world, Konata-san. It's people like you that keeps hope alive for me and for others in my position…so thank you again, Konata-san. Thank you for giving me hope."

Deeply touched by Miyuki's words, Konata sighed. "Oh Miyuki…"

Miyuki simply smiled back and outstretched her hand and Konata connected it with hers. The two friends held each other's hands and now Konata was having second thoughts again about telling Miyuki about the missing Tsukasa Hiiragi and how the police were already labeling it as a kidnapping. The last thing Konata wanted to do was pour cold water all over the warm and deep sentiment Miyuki spoke regarding the beautify she saw in the world, especially when it involved the abduction and god knows what else involving one of the purest souls anyone had ever known. Still, she needed Miyuki's advice on the matter. Since Miyuki was still her old self despite everything she was put through, Konata hoped that the pink-haired girl would be able to come through for her once again.

"Miyuki?"

"Yes?"

"Kagami's family is absolutely devastated by what she did to you and I was hoping I could ask for your advice on something. How do I help them?" Konata asked, perking a look of curiosity from Miyuki. "I feel so useless and pathetic watching them from the sidelines while they're entire existence falls apart. What can I do for them, Miyuki?"

Miyuki simply smiled and cupped Konata's hands and gently massaged them. "Sometimes when people are going through horrible circumstances like the Hiiragi family is…just simply being there is more than enough. Make your presence known and that they're not alone in their suffering because you love Kagami-san too…right?"

Konata nodded though she was still reluctant to do so.

"Well then, I believe that that is the best way you can help them. By simply being a friend during the good times…and a shoulder to cry on and a pair of ears to listen during the bad times." Miyuki added. "I'm sure you've heard the old saying 'misery loves company' before…but it doesn't always have to be so grim. Just let them know that you're not going anywhere and that you'll never judge them, scrutinize them, or even ostracize them for the mistakes Kagami-san is making. Sometimes friendship is the greatest gift you can give someone…even in the darkest of times. My friendship with you, your cousin, Mi-chan, and everyone else is one of the many things that are getting me through this unfortunate turn of events in my life."

Konata sighed again and nodded, trying to maintain her inner emotional strength and not cry before the battered Miyuki Takara. The blue-haired girl had made numerous comparisons to Miyuki being rich and upscale to her conflicting simple lifestyle before, but Konata could now truly see how simple Miyuki was herself. Despite Miyuki's luxurious upbringing, she could still connect with her fellow man in the simplest and purest ways possible. Any other rich and persnickety person would simply try and buy friendship or buy off unhappiness with material goods, but not Miyuki. Even though the worst of humanity's possibilities had taken so much of her life away, she still maintained her principles and knew that the world around her was bigger than she was, as were the people in it she was honored to call her family and friends. To Miyuki, her friends were the greatest and most luxurious possessions she had in her life and she knew this was true because each and every one of them was one of a kind and couldn't be replaced by another.

"And Konata-san…could I ask you a favor?" Miyuki asked and Konata couldn't help but notice the change in Miyuki's tone from confident to reluctance.

"Anything, Miyuki, anything."

"Could…could you possibly close the blinds on my window for me? The sun is setting and it shines right in my face. Even now I'm very sensitive about bright lights in my face. It's so embarrassing." Miyuki whimpered with a slight blush on her face.

Despite the ghastly situation the two friends were in, Konata couldn't help but feel that a sliver of their old existences had just revealed itself to them. The blue-haired girl chuckled as she stood to help her friend and she exclaimed, "Okay now _that_ was a moe moment!"

Miyuki simply tilted her head in confusion while releasing a complementing grunt to illustrate her lost train of thought when dealing with Konata. For now, Konata decided to keep the issue of Tsukasa missing to herself. The last thing she wanted to do was not only discourage and void Miyuki's earlier deep sentiments, but she also didn't want to ruin this nostalgic moment between the two of them.

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Never in her entire life since Matsuri's and Misao's deaths did Kagami want to die so badly. How many men was she forced to satisfy today because of Yuka Miyakawa's influence? She lost count at forty-seven around the time the baseball team from earlier this morning arrived to pay her a visit. At least now she was free from the nauseating horrors of the secluded room that doubled as a dungeon for her but her night was still far from over. She still had to perform her usual stripping routine and now sat on an old barstool waiting for her turn to dance.

Even though she was still suffering from withdrawal from the lack of drugs, the excruciating process was beginning to show one clear thing to Kagami; how truly depraved she had allowed herself to become. That also wasn't without its downside. Even though Kagami was beginning to once again see everything clearly, it only made her want the drugs even more to take all the pain and guilt away. In the beginning, her experimentation with drugs was only to help her deal with the deaths of her sister and friend but it metastasized into something much more grotesque since then. Now she not only wanted the drugs to forget about those deaths, but she now needed them to erase her infinite shame and misery for what she had done to herself.

As she sat in her wardrobe for tonight's dance, she only felt more miserable. Miyakawa took Kagami's Miko outfit and butchered it with scissors and a sewing machine and turned into lingerie. Kagami still remembered when her father gave her this outfit. It was a sacred wardrobe and it meant a lot to him and the Hiiragi family and now she was desecrating it by using it as a sexual fetish for certain men. She trembled and dripped cold sweat from her withdrawal as the violent pulsing of the bass music on the other side of the curtains kept the activity in the club alive.

With nothing but her self-damaging thoughts to keep her company, the backdoor of Teasers suddenly flew open, making Kagami jump when the metal door struck the bricks. The bang it created suddenly brought the memories of the shootout back and Kagami knew she was suffering from post-traumatic stress as a result. What stepped inside the building however made Kagami shriek and duck again, though no one heard her scream as she was alone and the music outside covered her initial cries of fear.

A figure stepped in through the open doorway and was holding a silent but still smoking chainsaw and the tool as well as the person holding it were both covered in a red liquid. Kagami's heart pounded even harder when Yuka Miyakawa stepped into the light and revealed herself to be the one with the powerful weapon. From head to toe, Miyakawa was covered in the dripping red liquid, as was her smoking chainsaw and she had a blank look on her face, as if she was out for a walk and nothing else.

She turned her head when she saw Kagami cowering behind the old barstool, she smiled and hissed, "Hey, baby! Ready for your dance?!"

"Yu…Yuk…Yuka…what are you…covered in…?" Kagami stuttered and had a sinking feeling she already knew the answer though she hoped she was wrong.

"Blood. Why do you ask?" Miyakawa asked again with a causal tone and grin like it was nothing.

Feeling her stomach tighten, Kagami covered her mouth and took a few deep breaths before she added, "What…what were you…doing?"

"Oh I was just paying a visit to our latest guest downstairs. Remember that little prepubescent gangbanger I boiled like a fucking egg? I found someone even more fun to play with down there and better yet…she's a screamer." Miyakawa giggled.

Kagami panted and turned away as Miyakawa wiped the blood from off her face. To think that a girl like her could so easily take human life and feel happiness when doing it truly made Kagami fear for her life and Miyakawa's earlier words still echoed in her mind. Kagami was trapped. No matter what she did or where she went, Miyakawa would simply hunt her family and friends down and turn them inside-out. Kagami could now see all of Miyakawa's plan. In the beginning, Kagami had sex for money for the drugs, then she started having it for pleasure with Miyakawa, now she was going to be forced to have it so her friends and family could live. Kagami had walked straight into her trap and was still smart enough to see that all the other girls at Teasers and some out on the streets had similar fates to hers because of Yuka Miyakawa's twisted and sadistic mind.

"By the way…you'll be dancing to my second favorite song of all time tonight so you should feel honored." Miyakawa hissed as Kagami looked up just in time to see her slide a blood-soaked finger into her own mouth and consume the red liquid, only furthering Kagami's disgust. Miyakawa soon removed her finger from her mouth and added with a wink, "And if you fuck it up…you'll have to do it all over again and to my number one favorite song of all time…and I don't think you'll like that very much, Kagami. Trust me…there will be a surprise to that one."

The twin-tailed Hiiragi continued to tremble like a leaf as she retracted into a ball and kept shaking and dripping water from her eyes and forehead. She could only hug herself tighter and rock herself on the dirty floor and wait until it was her time. However, as she sat on the ground, the world Kagami was a part of truly penetrated into her soul when she concocted a thought. Yuka Miyakawa said the only way to escape her new life of drugs and prostitution was death…but what if Kagami took the initiative and made death come suddenly though not for her…but for Yuka Miyakawa herself? Kagami never in her entire life had a homicidal thought about anyone, yet here she sat on the floor of a strip club and was giving serious consideration to killing Yuka Miyakawa herself. Maybe then she and everyone she cared about would be free from this wicked girl's putrid and conniving mind.

Kagami gave it so much thought that she didn't notice it was now her time to get out and dance. She knew that if she didn't Miyakawa would take the initiative herself and kill her so Kagami weakly pulled herself to her feet and took several deep breaths as she approached the drawn curtain. She already had a sinking feeling this was going to be a disaster since she was scared, going through withdrawal, and her old self that was once locked away deep in her brain and buried by the drugs was resurfacing and was truly asking Kagami what the fuck she was doing here.

"Give it up for everyone's favorite shrine maiden, Kagami Hiiragi!" Ryuji's voice announced and the curtain's parted and Kagami was swallowed by a blast of bright lights and cheering men.

In her butchered Miko outfit that now draped over Kagami in shards revealing her midsection, bare legs, arms, and barely covering her breasts and groin, she slowly trembled out onto the center stage and latched onto the pole. The song ripped through the club and Kagami remembered Miyakawa telling her it was her second favorite song, which was Marilyn Manson's song "Disposable Teens." Kagami weakly swung from the pole and right away Ryuji and his cousin at the bar watching could tell something was wrong with her. Kagami's face showed nothing but pure fright from all the eyes staring at her borderline naked body, most of whom were her father's age.

Kagami only swung around the pole once until she suddenly froze and hugged it, almost trying to use it as a shield and she couldn't take it anymore. Her eyes flooded and reality finally hit home completely when she looked into the eyes of the men pointing and laughing at her. She was their object; their source of amusement. She felt like a trained animal in a zoo doing tricks for treats but instead it was for cash for drugs. Kagami released her tears and started crying as she held onto the pole and slowly slid down and fell to her knees, changing the reaction of the crowd. An eighteen year old girl who had lost her big sister and friend shortly after one of her most momentous accomplishments was now involved in a life of drugs and prostitution and crying her eyes out and even whispering for her mother to swoop in and save her was sitting before all of them.  
Kagami cupped her eyes with her hand as she gritted her teeth in pure anguish and whispered over the metal song, "I want my mommy…I'm just a scared little girl who wants to go home…someone please…save me…"

"Get up and dance, bitch!" One of the men in the audience shouted. "Get up and show us what your mama gave you if you want your money!"

Kagami only retracted tighter on the stage's floor around the pole and kept crying.

"Didn't you hear?! Get up and dance! That's your job! You're our entertainment!" Another shouted from the audience.

Kagami slowly lifted her head, showing her crying face to everyone and whispered, "I'm…I'm not an…object. I'm a young woman…please stop…stop all of this…no one deserves to be swinging from this pole…"

As the two depraved cousins exchanged annoyed looks with each other, the inevitable came next. The men in the audience started booing Kagami and started to hurl whatever they could at her. It started with shot glasses still filled with alcohol and Kagami tried to dodge them as she quickly sprung to her feet. Snack food and bowls holding them soon started landing on the stage around her as she kept shrieking and as she turned to run, a beer bottle came flying from the crowd and struck her against her head, shattering.

Kagami screamed and held her head as she ran with all her might down the stage and disappeared behind the curtains as the song kept playing while the boos from the crowd rivaled the lyrics. Even though Kagami was gone, they still kept throwing whatever they could at her until Miyakawa rolled her eyes and decided she had enough.

"Do something." She ordered Ryuji and got off her stool and bypassed the angry mob and walked through the curtains.

"Alright folks we apologize for that inconvenience so next round of drinks are on the house!" Ryuji said into the microphone, immediately calming the mob and the activity began to return to normal.

Miyakawa walked through the dressing area behind the curtain and found Kagami huddled under a table and crying loudly. She could see a blood trail leading to Kagami and assumed it was from the beer bottle and she rolled her eyes while shaking her head and walked towards the sobbing Hiiragi twin.

"That was pathetic, Kagami." Miyakawa snapped as she stood above her. "Now you're going to have to make it up."

Kagami slowly lifted her head, revealing a sickening bloody gash across her head from the glass. She cried deeply while hiccupping, "Just…just let me…go. I won't tell…anyone about…this place. I…swear…"

Before Miyakawa could reply, Ryuji joined them in the back and caught their attention. He glanced at Kagami and said, "So what's going on?"

Miyakawa shook her head. "She fucked up the dance. Where were you when it happened you dumbass?"

Ryuji rolled his eyes.

"Looks like there's going to be a change in plans for Kagami. I think we should finally get down to it and—" Miyakawa started but suddenly froze and abruptly formed a look of genuine perplexity.

"What? What's wrong, Yuka?" Ryuji asked while tilting his head.

"I smell something." Miyakawa replied as she began sniffing the air. "I smell something…bad. For business."

"Bad for business? What are you talking about—" Ryuji began but suddenly paused and glanced at Kagami, who suddenly gulped as she bled and cried on the floor. "Is it coming from Kagami?"

Miyakawa quickly turned her head and formed a look of pure hatred, making Kagami fear her number was finally called. The one Kagami once thought she could trust suddenly dropped to her knees, grabbed her, and forced her on her back. Kagami started struggling and screaming again.

"Yuka stop! What are you doing?!" She cried and thrashed until Miyakawa flicked a switchblade knife open in Kagami's face, immediately silencing her.

"Shut your goddamn mouth, Kagami, or I swear to Christ I will cut off your fucking tits and feed them to you! Understand?!" Miyakawa yelled.

Kagami quickly nodded as she continued to cry and Miyakawa resumed her work. To Kagami's increasing panic, Miyakawa placed her face on Kagami's exposed stomach and began sniffing like a dog. She looked as if she was on a quest for something and she didn't stop until she reached the layer of flesh covering Kagami's womb. Miyakawa suddenly inhaled a large whiff and made a sound that made Kagami cringe further.

"What are you…doing, Yuka?" Kagami muttered with overwhelming fear.

Miyakawa suddenly began coughing and when she was finished, she turned to Kagami with a look of even more sinister contempt. "Oh you fucking little bitch! You stupid little whore!"

"What?! What did I do?!" Kagami cried.

Miyakawa sprung to her feet, allowing Kagami to scoot further away from them as Miyakawa grabbed Ryuji and pulled him aside as Kagami backed into a wall and watched with a palpitating heart as the two cousins conversed. Kagami couldn't follow the gist of the conversation but Ryuji suddenly turned his head and looked at her.

He turned back to Miyakawa and replied, "She is?"

Miyakawa nodded.

"Are you absolutely sure?"

"You know I have a nose for that kind of shit."

Ryuji sighed and rubbed his head, only furthering Kagami's bafflement. He opened his mouth and asked, "What do you want to do about it?"

Miyakawa shot another angry look at Kagami until she turned back to her cousin. "Get it out of her. Do whatever you have to. Physical trauma or surgery with a fucking knife! Just do it and do it now!"

Kagami had no idea what was happening but she had yet another sinking feeling she was about to endure more pain. She watched Ryuji nod to Miyakawa, turn to her, and undo his belt. He held it like a whip and started for Kagami. Kagami started panicking again as she tried to back up more but was held in place by the wall as she started crying again while holding her arms up as a surrender mechanism.

"Ryuji, wait! What are you doing?! What did I do?! Is this about the dance?! I'm sorry, okay?! I'm sorry! Please don't hurt me! Don't hurt me!" Kagami screamed as she shook her head and threw more tears.

Ryuji callously grabbed Kagami again and hoisted her up by her hair and started guiding her for a supply closet. As he dragged her to the dark and isolated room, he hissed, "This will teach you for not using the fucking condoms we gave you!"

Kagami didn't hear him over her own screams of pain and fear and she suddenly felt herself get thrown into the supply closet and she collided with a shelf, adding more pain. She sank to the floor and reassumed her position of curling into a ball and holding her arms out as she cried as Ryuji stepped into the closet and slammed the door shut. The heartbreaking sounds of the belt making contact with Kagami's body came next and she kept crying louder and louder, still ignorant as to why she was being treated like this.

As Miyakawa listened to the whips and Kagami's screams of terror and pain, she fished in her pocket and retracted a pack of cigarettes and slid one into her mouth. She lit it and as she exhaled the smoke while still listening to her cousin ravage Kagami, she rolled her eyes and shook her head.

"I fucking hate kids." Miyakawa snarled and turned her back. "A knocked-up prostitute. Talk about a financial shipwreck. Fuck me…"


	34. Chapter 34

CHAPTER 33

Despite all her best efforts to save her oldest twin daughter, Miki Hiiragi felt like a complete and utter failure as a mother and as a woman. She always remembered the words of her late father-in-law, Taichi Hiiragi, and his views on the female gender. She never bought into feminism or the belief that women were truly anything special or even sacred beings, but her father-in-law and husband in Tadao made her feel like a superhero, especially when she first became a mother with Inori as her first child. Now one of her daughter's was resting in a graveyard, another was living a destructive life of drugs and prostitution, and now her youngest and purest was missing and presumed kidnapped. She couldn't help but feel that she was making her late father-in-law roll in his grave. Her entire world was falling apart before her.

As Miki sat at her still rickety kitchen table from Kagami's axe attack, she kept her face nestled in her open palms. While she sulked and pouted alone at the table, she felt the nurturing presence of an arm simply place a mug of steaming tea in front of her. She looked up and saw her husband take a seat next to her, also with a steaming mug of his own.

"You should try and drink something, dear." Tadao said softly. "I know you're scared out of your mind and so am I but we have to have faith. It's all we've got anymore."

Miki nodded slightly and took the beverage. She blew lightly on it once and took a small sip, allowing the strong liquid to relax her burning and emotionally distraught senses. "I'm sorry, Tadao."

"Sorry about what?" He replied as he placed his mug on the table and stared at his sniffling wife with concerned eyes.

"I'm sorry that I...failed our children." Miki replied and quickly took another tear away from her eyes. "All I ever wanted was to be a great mother and raise our daughters the way that your father would've wanted. Now look at us. We've lost Matsuri to a horrible accident, we've lost Kagami to a putrid and criminal existence, and now our little Tsukasa has been kidnapped. Your father must be cursing my name from the other side right now."

Tadao quickly connected his hands with his wife's and held them close. "I don't want to hear such words from you again, Miki. You are an incredible woman that I thank the gods for everyday, and so do your children. What we have facing us is a momentous test of faith and in my opinion, a test to show how truly remarkable you and our children truly are. We're going to pull out of this, honey."

Miki sniffed again and curled her soft and delicate fingers around her husbands more calloused digits. "But...Tsukasa..."

"We still don't know anything, Miki. Tsukasa is only missing and she will remain a missing person until we're given evidence to the contrary. Until then, she is only a missing person. Nothing more and nothing less." Tadao reassured his wife while also trying in vain to do the same for himself in the process. "We don't give Tsukasa enough credit. She's a lot stronger than a lot of us believe because she's been hanging around Kagami for so long. I'd be willing to bet you that she took matters into her own hands and went to find Kagami herself and try to convince her to go to rehab. Remember at breakfast the day she disappeared? She told us that Kagami was texting her and that she wanted help to get clean."

Miki tried her best to crystalize this theory as a fact in her mind but she still couldn't help but ask even more questions that made her more edgy. "But...but if that's the case...how long could it take to convince Kagami to go to rehab? Tsukasa never called, texted, anything. She just said that she was going to Konata-chan's house and then..."

The Hiiragi housewife withdrew her hands from Tadao's loving caress and she abruptly shielded her face. As her weeping once again started, Tadao scooted his chair closer to his wife and hugged her close as she cried. He now found himself playing the role of the comforter for the one who used to be the one who truly nurtured the family. As he hugged his wife close, they were oblivious to the fact that their last and oldest daughter was standing in the hallway nearby and overheard everything they said.

Inori felt her heart pound and endless tidal waves of guilt consumed her soul. She was the last one in the family to see Tsukasa before she disappeared and she felt completely responsible for it. It was her who allowed Tsukasa to undertake such a risky mission and she threw all of her support behind it without informing her parents where she was going. Inori still didn't tell her parents this and for the usual reasons including the fear of getting into trouble. She also didn't know of any good it would do. It wouldn't help find Tsukasa any faster or get to the bottom of her disappearance. Still, the guilt was endless and she needed to liberate herself from it no matter what the risk was of the impending consequences.

She slowly entered the room and made her presence known to her parents and Miki made quick work of erasing her tears as Inori entered the kitchen. Before any of her parents could greet her, Inori beat them to it. "Mom...dad...I have something I need...to tell you..."

Because of the tone used by their oldest daughter, Miki and Tadao exchanged quick concerned glances with each other and faced Inori again. Miki cleared her throat and said, "Okay, what is it, sweetheart?"

"It's...it's about...Tsukasa." She whispered, making her parents lean in closer. "I know where she went. She went to the Aku District the other day to try and find Kagami."

"How do you know about this?" Tadao suddenly expressed, increasing the fear in Inori.

Despite her fear, she did her best to push forward. "Kagami...she was texting Tsukasa. She said she wanted to get clean just like Tsukasa told us at breakfast. She told you she was visiting that Izumi girl...but she went to talk to Kagami. I knew. I wished her luck. I'm so sorry..."

Now it was Inori's turn to shield her face from her parents and begin weeping. Her parents were so blindsided by this revelation that they didn't know how to react initially. Within seconds they felt everything from anger, to rage, to devastation, to genuine empathy. For now, empathy became the dominating emotion and Miki's maternal side glowed for Inori's sake. She scooted over to Inori and hugged her crying daughter while Tadao remained reserved.

He still didn't know how to react in light of his oldest daughter's confession. She allowed Tsukasa to disobey their rule to not speak to or even acknowledge Kagami for all that she was doing to the family and now Tsukasa was missing as a result. Still, he could hear and see genuine regret and sincerity in Inori's words and emotions. He too joined his wife in comforting Inori as she continued to weep but he still needed to vocalize his fatherly observation on this matter.

"You should've told us earlier, Inori. Did Tsukasa say exactly where she was going?" Tadao asked with a sigh.

Inori shook her head. "No...but I...I think it was...somewhere public..."

Tadao scratched his head. "If it was in public and she was abducted, I would've assumed there would've been witnesses who would've called the police. This still doesn't make any sense."

Tadao was plenty disappointed in Inori and her decision to withhold potentially valuable information from them but at the same time was happy that she decided to come clean about it. He was able to remain calm and knew that yelling and scolding Inori would make this already turbulent situation even worse and most of all it wouldn't help find Tsukasa any quicker. Tadao had no choice but to keep his own faith alive and believe that Tsukasa was safe and secure somewhere. She just had to be in his mind. Almost two days had passed since she first went missing and the police had no leads, which could be seen as a good thing. If she was kidnapped, no one had come forth with a ransom demand and if worst case scenario she was murdered, her body wasn't found so she still had to be alive somewhere. However, none of them could obviously comprehend the fact that where Tsukasa was at the current moment was a place so horrid and the treatment she was receiving was making her literally scream and pray for death to end it all.

(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(- )-(-)

Kagami Hiiragi looked at herself in a dirty and cloudy mirror of a dingy motel room. Her once beautiful and majestic appearance was now riddled with bruises and gashes from Ryuji's violent assault on her body last night. Black and blue marks covered her entire torso, she had a black right eye, a fattened lip, and a swollen ear. Still, she had no idea why she was so horrendously ambushed the previous night. All she could comprehend was the fact that she allowed her nerves to get the better of her and she collapsed on stage. That was the only connection she could make that resulted in the justification that allowed Ryuji to beat her mercilessly.

During the beating, Kagami couldn't figure out why after initially whipping her with his belt why he held her down by her head with one hand while remorselessly punching her stomach with the other. Ryuji nor his cousin spoke to Kagami the rest of the night and the battered twin-tailed girl lost consciousness in the supply closet where she was beaten. She woke up there the next morning and realized no one came to help her once. She awoke in the same position she passed out in and when she encountered Miyakawa again, she forced Kagami back out into the streets to meet with clients all day.

With her latest customer satisfied and watching TV outside in the room, Kagami remained in the bathroom with the door closed and locked. Reality was back within her and she felt endlessly repulsed by what she had done with this man. She stayed close to the toilet for fear of her stomach rejecting the contents within it and she curled into the bathtub and pulled the tattered curtain in front of her. Nestled in her protective ball of her legs and arms, Kagami rocked back and forth in the moldy and smelly tub and cried. The only thing that was on her mind was how she could possibly escape this horrid life she had created for herself. Still, every possible scenario that would result in her escaping only ended in either her death or the deaths of the ones she cared about.

What made her situation worse was not only the withdrawal, but she was beginning to remember certain things as a result of it. When she was unconscious in the supply closet of Teaser's, she started to hear voices and screams. She could hear her own violent screeches in addition to a scream that belonged to a familiar voice. Kagami couldn't be certain but as she sat and rocked herself in the putrid bathtub, she could swear that she could hear Miyuki Takara's screaming voice crying for her to stop doing something in her mind. What was it though? Whatever Miyuki was screaming about, Kagami could tell that she was scared beyond all comprehension when she was spouting it. Still, the twin-tailed girl couldn't think of anything that would scare a girl like Miyuki that badly...or worse yet...what could scare a girl like her.  
As Kagami continued to bathe in her own squalor of the ramshackle motel, she felt her cell phone vibrate in her pocket and she instinctively cringed, gulped, and shivered. She knew that all her friends stopped texting and calling her completely after the failed intervention. Even Tsukasa stopped communicating with her, as her last text message to her clearly illustrated. There was only one person left in this world who still gave Kagami the time of day and it ironically was the person Kagami was scared of the most.

Still, she knew she had no choice but to open her phone and read the text message from Yuka Miyakawa. When Kagami opened the phone, she read it and gulped again.

_Come back to Teasers now! It's time to redeem your dance._

Kagami took a deep breath but couldn't help but notice something was different about this setup. All the dances arranged by Miyakawa were usually held later at night and it was only five o'clock in the afternoon. This was definitely out of the ordinary and Kagami believed that there was more to this than met the eye, which was what petrified her even more. She now knew that Yuka Miyakawa was nothing short of a devil and always had an agenda for her body.

Regardless, Kagami still feared the consequences of disobeying Miyakawa since she already faced the punishment for charging her before to get her cell phone back. Another thing Kagami couldn't understand as she packed her things and readied to leave the motel room was what happened after Miyakawa gave her cell phone back to her. Kagami tried calling and texting Tsukasa again but was only met with a dead battery.

The twin-tailed girl wiped the smudged makeup off her eyes and face caused by her tears, threw her makeup in her purse, and slowly opened the bathroom door. It creaked and rattled as a result of the rusted doornails and hinges, making Kagami cringe and fear a terrifying and potentially deadly encounter with her client on her way out. She kept her money in her boot as she tiptoed out and saw the TV on a sitcom rerun and she glanced at the old bed when she rounded the corner.  
To her relief, her customer was sleeping soundly under the covers and snoring loudly. Kagami wanted to gag at the sight of him. He was obese, smelled rotten, and was always sweating, even when he was sitting and breathing. It was a ghastly memory sealed in Kagami's mind as she remembered being smothered by his sweating body and she struggled for air while he did his deed on her. Kagami was able to successfully exit the motel room without waking the snoring man and wasted no time in putting more distance between herself and the rickety, dingy, decrepit structure. With each step she took, another tear fell from her eyes as she gritted her teeth and her face burned red with rising anger and anguish over the perverted deeds she was still doing. She knew she was reaching her breaking point and still considered taking a knife and driving it into Yuka Miyakawa's body until she died. Still, her old self was still beginning to glow again and she knew she would never have it in her to kill another person.

Kagami kept walking and was solicited for prostitution twice while making her way back to Teasers and declined both of them harshly, rearing her old tsundere side upon meeting the lowest and most perverted forms of life in the Aku District. Her temper was returning to normalcy when encountered by such men but knew she would unfortunately cower at the feet of Yuka Miyakawa and her cousin, Ryuji Katsumoto. What hurt her the most though was still the very thought of this becoming her life until the day she died and even then Miyakawa would still probably kill Kagami's family for fun if nothing else. As a result, Kagami believed that she had to keep enduring everything Miyakawa forced her into until she could think of something else.

When Kagami arrived back at the sordid strip club, she used the back entrance as she was instructed to do from now on. She used a key that was given to her by Miyakawa and Kagami wiped more tears away as she turned the key and opened the door. No sooner did she step in, a muscular pair of hands grabbed her by her top and reeled her in, making her shriek in fright and she yelped when she was thrown to the hard and dusty wooden floor. She looked up quickly and saw Ryuji slam the door shut and she was once again imprisoned in the evil building.

"Where's the money?" Ryuji snapped at her.

"It's...it's right here..." Kagami whimpered and she quickly removed her black leather high-heel boot and allowed the large sum of cash to fall out and it scattered all around her.

"Pick it up and give it to me." He added callously with a glare.

Kagami once again complied meekly and started crawling across the dirty floor on her hands and knees collecting the money as Ryuji stood above her. As his own source of entertainment, Ryuji began tapping his foot on the ground impatiently, prompting Kagami to start panicking and she feared another beating was approaching if she didn't hurry up. Kagami quickly pulled in all the money and held the messy wad up with trembling hands.

Ryuji snatched it maliciously, making Kagami whimper again and Ryuji started counting all the bills as the twin-tailed Hiiragi pulled herself to her feet. She rubbed her arms and made several weak sounds that resembled a scared puppy, catching Ryuji's attention.

He looked up with a glare and snapped, "Problem?"

Kagami shook her head and couldn't bear to make eye contact with the truculent woman beater. Still, she had a simple request for him. "No...not really. I was just...I was just wondering what my cut would be. It is my body being trashed here after all. I want...I want my commission."

Ryuji huffed. "You get your cut when I say you get your cut. You haven't earned it worked hard enough for it yet."

Kagami's eyes watered with fear. "But...but I'm sleeping with these disgusting animals. And I just...I just want to buy something special...for my little sister. Our birthdays are coming up soon."

Ryuji started laughing at Kagami, making her tremble with more fear. "Yeah, that's a good one, Kagami. I'm sure little Tsukasa would just love to get a birthday present from you of all people, especially when she finds out you fucked some guy for the money to get it."

Kagami gulped again and she knew he had a point. Feeling uncomfortable being near him, Kagami slowly looked around. The club was quiet. Too quiet. It was always open for the most part and even though the most activity came later at night, there were always a few sleaze balls that came in off the street during the day. "Yu...Yuka said I...I had to...dance..." Kagami tried to hold her tears in upon saying it.

Ryuji nodded. "Yep, that's right. Tonight...you'll be dancing for one customer since we closed the club just for you tonight so don't worry. You won't have to duck any bottles or shot glasses tonight. Now get undressed."

Still looking away in shame, Kagami slowly nodded with her eyes full of water. She started to walk away with the intent of going to the private dressing rooms until Ryuji's voice stopped her.

"Hold it. Where do you think you're going?" He snarled.

Kagami turned her head and looked at him with frightened confusion. "I was...I was going to...change."

"I have your outfit right here." Ryuji countered and pointed to a chair nearby that only held a very short leather skirt that barely covered the groin and a black lacy bra. Her boots would also complete the look but Kagami still didn't understand what his innuendo was.

She suddenly put it together and she blushed heavily and started crying. "You mean...in front...of you...?"

"It's nothing I haven't seen already, Kagami. Now take off your clothes!" He thundered, making Kagami shiver and her knees knocked while she hugged her shoulders.  
She sniffed and uttered, "Why...are you doing this...to me...?"

"You're a commodity, Kagami. A piece of merchandise. An object with a price tag. You mean nothing more and nothing less to us." Ryuji retorted harshly as he tucked Kagami's money away in his jacket pocket and folded his arms across his chest. "If I have to ask you one more time, I will rip it all off myself and I guarantee you that will result in broken bones."

Kagami gulped and finally complied. Despite the fact that she was crying in front of this young man whom she thought she could trust at one point, his eyes replied with no empathy or emotion for the distraught girl. He simply stood and watched the crying girl with his narrowed hawk-like eyes as Kagami dropped her clothes in front of him. To keep the mental torture alive, he made her stand before him for awhile as she started to beg for the dancing wardrobe to cover herself. He finally threw the items at her and Kagami struggled to pull the tight clothes over her body until she was wrapped up like a itemized artifact again, making Kagami drip more tears.

"Hey Ryuji! The guest of honor is ready for the show so bring on the shrine maiden!" Yuka Miyakawa's voice called from behind the curtains where the main room was.

Ryuji turned back to the still weeping Kagami. "Well...get going."

Still holding herself around her chest to keep herself covered, Kagami slowly walked towards the curtains as her boots echoed across the wooden floor. Kagami parted the curtains and kept her face cast downward at the glistening hardwood floor shining in the multicolored lights above her. She finally stood next to the shining silver pole and held it, still unable to look at her customer.

"I'm...I'm ready..." Kagami whispered in a voice that portrayed nothing but utter defeat.

"Glad to hear it!" Miyakawa's happy ear-piercing voice echoed and Kagami looked up.

The twin-tailed girl was presented with a setup that blindsided her completely. She saw Yuka Miyakawa sitting in the lap of the customer, but what surprised Kagami was when she saw a burlap bag covering the customer's head. The customer's hands were also bound to the chair's arms with duct tape and what caught Kagami's attention the most was the fact that this person who supposedly paid good money to see her strip was very short. Shorter than Miyakawa and it appeared to be a female customer. A large TV also sat on a stand with a glowing fuzzy screen, further adding confusion to this setting.

"Yu...Yuka...?" Kagami squeaked. "What's going on?"

"Wanna see a magic trick, Kagami?" Miyakawa asked and placed her hand on the top of the burlap bag covering the bounded customer's head. "I'm going to make a familiar face magically reappear. Ta-da!"

Miyakawa ripped the bag off and Kagami's world exploded and burned to ashes forever when she saw who was in the chair. The one person she could identify with the most more than anyone else in this world. The one she used to confide in when her emotional troubles were beginning before she graduated high school. The person who was the yin to her yang. The person who's love and innocence charmed and made everyone envy her, even Kagami.

Tsukasa Hiiragi.

The sole being who was able to claim the entire definition to words like innocence and purity was sitting before Kagami but she was no more. Her face was colored white with red swirling patterns on her cheeks and her whimpers and cries were muffled by the red gag ball fastened around her mouth. Her eyes were two endless waterfalls of tears flowing over the pitch-black eye shadow and when she saw Miyakawa sitting in her lap, Tsukasa struggled and panicked even more. This devil was the reason why Tsukasa was bound and gagged in the chair. An ominous white bandage was wrapped around Tsukasa's left arm with a patch of dried blood staining the center of it, indicating Tsukasa had an old and even infected wound.

The mental torture Tsukasa was forced to endure for two days and two nights was nothing short of animalistic. When Tsukasa naively walked into Teasers, Miyakawa jumped her and already had a rag soaked in chloroform in her pocket that she used to knock her unconscious. When Tsukasa awoke, she was bound and gagged in the same chair where the gangbanger was murdered by Miyakawa when she poured boiling water down his throat. She had the burlap bag over her head and she remained alone and locked in the room of darkness for hours. When she was first visited by Miyakawa, the torture began. She did everything from playing death metal on a powerful CD player for hours, to vrooming a chainsaw in her face. Miyakawa was even able to bring another gangbanger she lured in with her promiscuity and went to work on him with the same chainsaw in front of Tsukasa, hence why she reappeared to Kagami drenched in blood the other night. Miyakawa also painted Tsukasa's face to only screw with her mind but to Tsukasa, the worst was when Miyakawa forced her to watch a certain movie for hours and hours nonstop.

"Tsukasa!" Kagami cried at the top of her lungs and was about to dash for her sister but Ryuji was there behind her and latched onto her long hair. Kagami still struggled until she knew she was trapped and feeling sick to her stomach, she fell to her knees and cried loudly and uncontrollably as Tsukasa also cried in her chair.

"Isn't this nice? Sisters reunited for the first time in awhile after one falls from grace? How lovely." Miyakawa cackled and turned her face back to the petrified Tsukasa. She cuddled her closely as the youngest Hiiragi girl kept balling and screaming through the rubber ball over her mouth for her sister to rescue her while Miyakawa added, "You were right, Kagami. You do have the cutest little fraternal twin sister in the world. It makes me want to eat her up..."

Tsukasa started screaming again as Miyakawa opened her mouth and dragged her tongue across the frightened girl's cheek. Kagami's rage and fear boiled within her and she wanted to slaughter Miyakawa for not only the act on Tsukasa, but for everything else she had done. "What did you do to her, Yuka?!" Kagami shouted as more tears fell from her eyes.

"Nothing...we were just bonding over the past two days and nights." Miyakawa replied with a smirk as she played with Tsukasa's hair. "We just loved our little sleepovers, didn't we, Tsukasa? Now you know everything you're sister has been doing...like me for example."

Kagami felt her breath go shallow as Ryuji still held her. "What the fuck are you talking about, Yuka?!"

Miyakawa smiled and reached into her bosom and quickly pulled out a TV remote control. "We were having a forty-eight hour sleepover, Kagami, and we bonded over some really good movies. This one was our favorite."

She pressed the PLAY button on the remote and the TV set on the stand next to them projected the DVD disc inside it. When Kagami saw it, she was ready to vomit and started crying harder. It was a massive sex tape of her first time in the downstairs prostitution dungeon the day Miyakawa slipped Kagami ecstasy. Kagami watched in horror as the screen projected the video of her on the mattress with Miyakawa on top of her and a man having sex with Kagami. Nearly every encounter Kagami had in the basement of Teasers was filmed by Miyakawa secretly as the depraved psychopath knew she would one day need it as a tool against Kagami. The film suddenly cut to another scene of her being used by four different men at once and it went on and on to different customers on different days. It would eventually finish with Kagami and Miyakawa stripping together while singing the song "Daughters of Darkness" by Halestorm.

"You should've seen her, Kagami. She was so entertained by your performances that she simply couldn't turn away. It might have had something to do with the fact that I said I would slit her eyelids off if she did but that's besides the point." Miyakawa laughed as she kept playing with Tsukasa's hair. "Regardless, she just kept watching it over and over for eighteen hours straight. I made sure of it."

Knowing that Miyakawa forced Tsukasa to watch this tape prompted her to cover her mouth as the contents of her stomach boiled and churned. Now she couldn't even look her little sister in the eyes. Miyakawa turned the TV off and stood up from Tsukasa's lap and Kagami finally forced herself to look up though she felt even dirtier than before.

Desperate to take the focus away from her scandalous tape, Kagami eyed the bloody wound on Tsukasa's arm. "What is that on her arm?!"

Miyakawa kneeled down to Tsukasa's arm and began to untie it with a smile. She took the bandage away and Kagami once again couldn't contain herself. Miyakawa tattooed an image of a misshaped heart with a banner wrapped around it that said "Kagami's whore." The tattoo was real with ink and needles and it looked horribly infected. It was clear Miyakawa just callously took a tattoo gun and dragged the needle through Tsukasa's skin while injecting the ink. The pain and fear Tsukasa must've felt was incomprehensible to Kagami.

"Well, what do you think, Kagami?! It was my first time using one of those tattoo guns so it might look a little fucked up but in my defense, I did tell her I would kill her if she wouldn't hold still but it only made her cry louder!" Miyakawa proclaimed happily and with zero regret in her voice.

As Kagami cried while remaining restrained by Ryuji, the broken twin-tailed girl whispered, "...Why...? Why would you...do that...to my baby sister...? Tsukasa...she never hurt anyone or anything in her life. Why, Yuka...why?"

Miyakawa's only response was to laugh at the crying Hiiragi twins. "Hey, you're the one that kept bitching that you wanted to see your sister again...so I brought her over to you. I just took the opportunity to get to know Tsukasa on a more...intimate level."

Kagami's heart bounced into her throat. "Yuka...you didn't..."

"What? Fuck your sister? Or let someone else deflower her? No, I didn't. She's still a good girl."

Kagami breathed a blunt sight of relief.

"But as with anything in life, Kagami, there's a catch. I don't think Tsukasa has ever had the pleasure of witnessing a striptease before...so that's where you come in, my dear." She added with a sinister smile. "You're going to dance and strip for your little sister tonight. You two maybe twins...but I think tonight we should make a real comparison between you two."

Kagami quickly shook her head. "Eat shit and die, Yuka! You're a sick, twisted, horrible creature! You devil! You cunt! You evil, conniving, disgusting, sordid monster!"

As Kagami vocalized her emotionally angry rant, Miyakawa's grin only grew wider and wider with each word. When Kagami finished and panted for breath, Miyakawa's response was, "Oh stop it, Kagami. You're going to make me blush. But hey, if you don't want to dance that's fine with me...although I will be forced to do something."  
Miyakawa reached behind her back and withdrew her infamous serpent dagger and walked behind Tsukasa and grabbed her hair. Tsukasa started screaming and thrashing in her chair again as Miyakawa brandished the blade for Kagami to see.

The twin-tailed Hiiragi joined her sister in a panic attack but Ryuji still held her down and looked on while Kagami screamed, "No, Yuka, don't do it! Don't kill my sister! Don't hurt Tsukasa! Let her go! She has no part in this!"

"Oh my precious little Kagami...don't worry...I won't kill your sister. But if you don't dance..." Miyakawa started softly but suddenly pulled Tsukasa's hair up and put the blade at the base of her follicles just above her forehead and shrieked, "I'm going to scalp her!"

"No don't do it!" Kagami screamed. "Okay, okay! Okay...I'll do it...I'll dance."

"That's my girl. I expect a real dance this time or you'll have to buy your sister a new hat to stitch onto her head." Miyakawa laughed and sheathed her knife. She left the crying Tsukasa in her chair and waltzed to the bar to get the music ready. She called from the bar, "Since you fucked up the last dance...I told you that you would have to do it all over again and to my favorite song of all time and it just happens to be a song from my favorite movie of all time so I hope you make me proud! Your sister's scalp depends on it!"

Ryuji abruptly released Kagami and stepped off stage. As Kagami slowly climbed to her feet and felt her makeup running down her face again from her tears, she looked at her bounded sister. The two were together again and this was the hand they were dealt. Kagami never felt as horrible and guilty as she did now. She knew that she was responsible for this now as the drugs continued to flow out of her system though the withdrawal was still terrible. Kagami allowed these two devils not only into her life, but her family's lives as well. The two siblings cried for each other though Kagami could still see nothing but utter disgust in addition to horror in Tsukasa's eyes.  
Miyakawa watched Kagami slowly climb off the stage and approach Tsukasa with open arms. Tsukasa was afraid of her own sister's embrace but still longed for it and she allowed Kagami to remove the red ball over her mouth and she wailed her sister's name immediately.

"Kagami! Get me out of here! I want to go home!" Tsukasa screamed as she cried.

Kagami sniffed with her runny face and nodded. "I know, sis, I know. I'm so sorry..."

Miyakawa watched with drooling eyes and she held her smile firm. Even though she had completely destroyed Kagami by doing this to Tsukasa, she giggled and put the final phase of her plan into effect. "I'll tell you what, Kagami. If you do this dance and I enjoy it...I'll let you both go. You're no longer my property. You'll be free again and you and little Tsukasa can walk out of here and never come back."

Kagami pulled her sister closer. "You're lying to me, Yuka. I now know the kind of girl you are. You're never going to leave us alone. You're always going to haunt us and terrorize us..."

Miyakawa shook her head. "You're wrong, Kagami. Do this dance...and you'll be free."

Kagami pulled back and looked at Miyakawa at the bar. "Do you...do you mean that?"

"I have a sister, too." Miyakawa used her sister's existence to further her own agenda. "I know how powerful of a force sisterhood is. But you still owe me one dance. Now get on with it."

Kagami started crying as she slowly backed up on stage. She placed her back against the pole and raised her arms above her head and rested them against it. Still dripping tears from her eyes, the waterworks increased when the eerie thumping of the song began. It was a slow and haunting introduction and Kagami felt her body becoming synched with the song and knew the worst was about to come. Seconds before the meat of the song began, Kagami whispered one more thing.  
"Tsukasa...please forgive me..."

Rob Zombie's song "Pussy Liquor" from the film "House of 1000 Corpses" tore through the club and Kagami's hips began swinging back and forth to the song and she looked away from Tsukasa as Miyakawa took a seat next to Tsukasa. Tsukasa closed her eyes and looked away as she cried but Miyakawa caught on. She brutally back-handed Tsukasa, making her yelp in pain.

"Hey, your sister is trying to entertain us so quit being such a stuckup bitch about it." Miyakawa snapped. "And you're in a hot club with plenty of lights, dancing, and music for fuck's sake. Try to live a little! Christ I've had more fun on my period than I've had with you since you came here!"

Tsukasa barely heard Miyakawa as she reluctantly watch Kagami swing from the pole for her and it only made her cry even more when Kagami reached behind her back and unhooked the black bra as she sniffed. She dropped the article and continued her scarring and degrading show that would permanently drive a wedge between the Hiiragi twins until the song ended. Kagami's performance in the eyes of Yuka Miyakawa was flawless and to everyone's surprise, Miyakawa remained true to her word. She let Kagami take Tsukasa home. Better yet, Miyakawa warned Kagami to never come back to Teasers. In the back of Kagami's mind, she knew this had to be a ploy of some kind but for now all she wanted to do was get her scarred sister home.

When the Hiiragi twins disappeared down the street, Miyakawa and her cousin remained at Teasers to continue their drug lives in sordid pleasure. As Ryuji exhaled a puff of crack cocaine smoke, he turned to his cousin, who was reveling in all that she had done.

"You sure you want to let Kagami go like that? What if she calls the cops?" Ryuji asked.

"She won't. She knows I know everything about her and she knows what'll happen to the ones she loves if she does." Miyakawa replied. "Besides...I'm tired of her. She's a used model now with way too many miles on her and I think it's about time I traded up for a new make and model."

Ryuji glanced away. "So you're just gonna cut her loose just like that?"

"Well that depends. Did you get rid of that repugnant growth inside her uterus?" Miyakawa asked still with no remorse.

Ryuji shrugged. "I beat her ass pretty well so I guess we'll see."

Miyakawa huffed. "Either way...I have a hard time believing Kagami's family will take her back now after she made it so easy to take her sister from her like that. She's now going to waste away in the streets and maybe I'll take her back. Still...I smelled something...bad...around Kagami when she was dancing. I blame you and your little girly arms."

Ryuji glared at her and rolled his eyes. "So if you kick Kagami to the curb, who will be her replacement? Who do you want me to romanticize and get addicted to the drugs next?"

His cousin smiled. "I already have a girl in mind. I think Kagami's little sister will do just fine."

"Good luck with that one. You think bringing her chocolates, flowers, and crack will make her forget all about what you did to her and she'll join us?" Ryuji huffed.  
Miyakawa smiled once again and started laughing. She reached into her pocket and slowly retracted a syringe with a cap covering the needle. The depraved girl stared at it with a smile and sighed happily.

"Oh poor little Ryuji. You still underestimate me. Just like Kagami always did. Tsukasa Hiiragi is already a part of us. She just doesn't know it yet."

**A/N: And with that, we are halfway through the story...**


	35. Chapter 35

CHAPTER 34

Kagami masked her face with her trembling hands as she sat at the familiar setup of her kitchen table. So many questions existed on both sides. For the Hiiragi family, it was what happened to their twins when Kagami came knocking on the door late at night and carried the crying and hysterical Tsukasa inside. For Kagami, it was why the Hiiragi house was in such disrepair. The drugs inside her body still kept the memory of her axe attack buried and it was still a blur. Regardless, Kagami was still more concerned about Tsukasa as her parents attended her.

The distraught twin-tailed girl sat and kept crying until she felt Inori's presence approach her. Her oldest sister placed a steaming cup of coffee in front of her but it made Kagami's heart clench when she saw Inori refuse to look her in the eyes. Either way, Kagami still took the hot beverage and started drinking it, though as soon as the liquid touched her teeth, a searing pain nearly made her scream but she was able to hold it in. The fake tooth in her mouth was hurting her and Kagami feared it was becoming infected. Still, she placed her own pain aside as Tsukasa was still her number one priority.

Inori took a seat across the table from Kagami and debated whether to even look at her little sister. She could hear Kagami's deep and sincere whimpers begging for attention and to be noticed but Inori didn't know if she had it in her. When she first brought Tsukasa home and the family saw her, Miki screamed her lungs dry. To see her youngest daughter with a painted face and a gut-wrenching tattoo on her arm was an image out of her worst nightmare. She and Tadao carried Tsukasa to her room and tried to settle her down while trying to figure out what happened. They completely disregarded Kagami's existence when they ushered Tsukasa back into their home.

Silence was the only thing binding Kagami and Inori together at this point. The only thing they seemed to have in common by this point was the fact that they were listening to their parents whisper to Tsukasa from inside her bedroom. Every now and then Tsukasa would start screaming again but only when either Miki or Tadao would ask about who tattooed her or painted her face.

"Kagami, I..." Inori began.

Kagami slowly looked up and her eyes presented the look of a person starving for some sort of acknowledgment. Ever since Kagami brought Tsukasa home nearly an hour ago, Kagami was treated either like as a stranger or like she didn't exist at all. She straightened her posture in her chair and leaned closer over the rickety table, hoping and praying she wasn't hearing things.

"Ye...yes, Inori?" Kagami squeaked.

Inori quickly glanced back at Kagami only once and sighed. She made several attempts at speaking again but her first glance at Kagami told her what she was going to inquire. Seeing her sister dressed in such lewd clothes that barely covered anything with hair that was riddled with crust and an odor coming off her body told Inori that Kagami was now estranged from the family. Still, she could see that Kagami was begging with watery puppy-like eyes for attention and Inori said the only thing that came to her mind.

"Are...are you okay, Kagami?" She asked.

Kagami was disappointed by the mundane gesture as she was hoping to be comforted by Inori. Regardless, she was grateful it was at least something so she nodded meekly back while adding, "I'm okay...but I...I really screwed up, Inori. I really, really did."

Inori folded his arms across her chest and for the first time in awhile, she found something she agreed with her sister on and she nodded. "I believe we all know that, Kagami."

As Kagami sniffed again, she heard her parents exit Tsukasa's room and gently close her door. The sounds of their footsteps coming down the stairs was like an individual spike being driven into her body and she clenched tighter and tighter until her parents rounded the corner and entered the kitchen. Tadao's reaction was more blunt than Inori's earlier passive acknowledgment.

"What are you still doing here, Kagami?" He snapped angrily.

Kagami was almost too afraid to look her father in his eyes but she forced herself to glance up at her distraught parents. Tadao held an angry face while Miki was still drying her eyes. She stuttered several times and could tell that Tadao wanted her out of his house. Kagami could see that Tadao believed that she was responsible in some way for what happened to Tsukasa.

"You're not welcome here anymore, Kagami!" He exclaimed angrily. "Wasn't beating your friend half to death and destroying our house good enough?! You had to do that to your own twin sister?!"

Kagami started crying again and shook her head violently. "I didn't do that! And what are you talking about beating my friend and destroying the house?! I didn't do any of this!"

"You're the one who did this, Kagami! You chopped up our home with an axe and then you tried to kill Tsukasa with it!" Tadao added angrily. "You tried to murder your own sister!"

To be accused of something so horrendous and unspeakable made Kagami sick. She still had no memories of the axe incident but the cloudy vision of the attack on Miyuki Takara was still clearing. Still, Kagami kept denying everything until Tadao was ready to add more.

Miki however stopped it immediately by placing her soft hands on her husband's shoulders and gently pulled him back. She stepped forward and wiped her eyes one final time before taking a seat at the table across from Kagami. She took a deep breath and looked her estranged daughter deep in her teary eyes.

"Actually, I'm glad she's still here. I have a few things I want to talk to her about." Miki said with subtle anger. "Kagami...we were finally able to get Tsukasa to stop crying and to go to sleep. We're going to have to take her to the hospital later because of that horrid thing on her arm. That stuff on her face isn't makeup. It's real paint and it's not coming off. When we asked her who did all of that to her...she only cried, 'the devil, the devil' over and over again. What's she talking about?"

Kagami lowered her face in shame and more tears dripped from her eyes as she gritted her teeth. "I'm sorry. That's the first thing I need to say. I'm so sorry. I allowed this plague to come into my life. The person who did that...was someone I've been staying with."

"Is that all, Kagami?" Miki asked with a scolding persona.

Kagami could tell that Miki knew everything by this point so there was no point in trying to hide anything. "I did drugs with her, and she was also the person who got me into prostitution."

"And what else?" Miki bit.

"That's all..." Kagami whispered with an emotional choke.

Miki folded her hands together under her chin. "What about the sex tape?"

Hearing this only made Kagami curl tighter into her emotional wreck and she cried harder. "She...she was filming me doing all of those perverted things...and she forced Tsukasa to watch it."

Inori held her stomach in disgust and started wobbling on her feet as her face went pale. Tadao was there to embrace her as she breathed hard while Miki continued.

"Who is this girl, Kagami? Tsukasa told us that you called her Yuka...and that you also participated in sexual activities with her." Miki added, earning more sickened looks from her father and older sister. "Give us the information on her and this evil strip club you've been working at and I'm going to call the police and have it shut down."

Kagami felt her anguish and pain rise higher. She knew exactly what Yuka Miyakawa was capable of and knew that if any police showed up at Teasers for what happened to Tsukasa and they were unable to apprehend Miyakawa, Kagami's family would be in grave danger. The twin-tailed girl trembled while she gripped her dirty hair and slowly shook her head.

"I...I can't...tell you..." Kagami uttered.

"Why not?" Miki retorted, her anger slowly growing as well to mirror her husband's.

Kagami looked up again and wiped more tears away. "You don't know her like I do. She'll kill you. All of you. I was there when she tortured a sixteen year old boy until she murdered him by pouring boiling water down his throat. She'll do a thousand times worse to all of you. She knows where we live. She knows all of your faces. She found them on my cell phone and I know it was her who lured Tsukasa into a trap. It was her who was texting Tsukasa using my phone so she would think it was me. She did all of that to Tsukasa..."

"Kagami, you tell us right now where to find these animals so we can bring them to justice!" Tadao roared as his patience had reached its limits. "Never in my entire life have I seen such truculent treatment of a young woman and the fact that it's my youngest daughter has made it unforgivable! This is your twin sister, Kagami! Where's your outrage?!"

"You don't understand, dad...!" Kagami cried again. "This girl...she truly is the devil like Tsukasa said! I'm sorry I did all of this! I know I'm responsible for all of this but I don't want to do it anymore! I don't want to use drugs to deal with Matsuri's and Misao's deaths! I don't want to strip or prostitute myself anymore and I don't want to be raped or beaten anymore! I want help!"

The three remaining Hiiragi family members who were still somehow standing looked at each other as if they were trying to deliberate on what to do. Everything Kagami had put them through so far was nothing short of a nightmare. As if losing Matsuri wasn't bad enough, Kagami had to develop a drug habit to take her pain and guilt over it away until it became a domino effect of infinite dysfunction. Now the youngest and purest of their family was destroyed by it. What Miki and Tadao saw in Tsukasa was no longer their daughter, but rather what was about to become a long number of sessions with Dr. Nagisa Kishimoto. They also feared that now it would have to be Tsukasa who would be treated for a mental condition instead of Kagami like Dr. Kishimoto speculated in their first session. Together in their minds, they came to a unanimous decision regarding Kagami in their home.

Miki turned back to Kagami and cried, "You're my daughter! I love you but I cannot forgive this! You know that Tsukasa would follow you to the ends of the Earth and back and what you've done to all of us has resulted in what happened to her! If you never did any of this...if you would've just taken our help...all of this could've been avoided! I'm sorry, Kagami, but you are the one who is the danger to our family and not this Yuka creature! I'm still Inori's and Tsukasa's mother and I have to protect them! Do you know how hard it is for a mother to tell one of her own children that she's a threat to her own family?! I'm sorry Kagami, but I cannot do this anymore! I want you out of my house!"

Kagami's crying only intensified. "No, please mom! Don't disown me! I love you and everyone here and I'm sorry, okay?! I've never been more sorry for everything as I am now! Please don't kick me out! I've got nowhere to go!"

"If you're old enough to make the decisions to do drugs and prostitute yourself...then I think you're old enough to figure your life out on your own by this point!" Tadao interjected as he too began crying since he had to agree with his wife. "You've gone against everything we've ever taught you and used your own body for evil! You've defiled your body with these animals! You've been selling yourself, Kagami! I will never allow you to corrupt the rest of your family! I want you to leave now and never come back!"

"Daddy, please don't make me leave! I'm scared and-" Kagami started.

Tadao suddenly pounded the kitchen counter and the loud echo made Kagami spring to her feet in addition to startling Miki and Inori.

"I said get out! I'll remove you from our house myself if I have to!" Tadao yelled again.

With her face a watery disaster, Kagami kept begging and crying for forgiveness and mercy as her legs instinctively carried her towards the front door. As she kept backing up with a look of pure fear, she kept wailing that she wouldn't know what to do anymore. She knew she surrendered her own friends and family for the drugs and she could now honestly say none of it was worth it anymore. She also couldn't go back to Teasers so now it seemed to be all over for her.

Kagami's back finally touched the front door and she fished for the doorknob as Tadao kept ordering her to get out. She finally opened the door and she fell into the dark night and climbed to her feet again. Kagami turned and started running with all her might again and as she became smaller and smaller in the inky night, Tadao finally fell to his knees and cried. Miki bent down to him and hugged him tightly as she too felt his pain.

Kagami Hiiragi, one of their biggest shining stars, the one who was well-endowed in her studies, involved in so many extracurricular activities, and had the entire world in the palm of her hand. The pig-tailed tsundere was no more. She was now a shell of the girl she once was. Everything that was beautiful and perfect in her life was now in shards because of the decisions she had made after a tragic accident took her big sister and friend away. The shame the Hiiragi family felt knowing that this daughter of theirs was a junkie prostitute and stripper was just as unbearable as the decision they had to make to cut her loose. Inori was still safe but Tsukasa was affected terribly by all of this and the Hiiragi family feared that she would be scarred indefinitely.

As Kagami ran with all her might down the dark and desolate street, her vision was clouded with anguish and uncertainty. Her intuition suddenly reformed after enough of Miyakawa's Satan's Blood drug got out of her system and her mind put something together. A memory of Miyuki Takara being pinned on a floor by someone as she bled and cried for mercy exploded in her mind and Kagami stopped running.

Still crying her eyes out, Kagami tried to remember and she suddenly remembered what her father told her only minutes ago. He referenced something about beating a friend half to death and her vision suddenly cleared. She could see everything from start to finish. It was her who viciously attacked Miyuki and when the memory of lifting her boot up and driving it onto her face surfaced, Kagami screamed.

She gripped her head and fell to her knees as she cried Miyuki's name and begged for forgiveness. The silence of the night were the only words of comfort she was given.

(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(- )-(-)

For the first time in two days and two nights, Tsukasa Hiiragi felt the warming rays of sunlight peek through her window and nurture her sleeping face. It was a truly missed sensation to feel the light of day on her soft, delicate flesh again and she couldn't help but smile again as she nestled herself deeper into her warm and protective cocoon that was her bed. The horrors of the past two days locked in the basement of Teasers with the psychopath Yuka Miyakawa was one of the factors that prompted Tsukasa to nestle deeper.

It was when she heard the clamoring of activity in the kitchen downstairs that told her the rest of the family was up and she happily threw her covers off and walked downstairs. She acted and appeared to be completely unfazed by all the horrors that Miyakawa put her through but it was possible that she was just happy to be home. Her usual cheery and happy persona that charmed everyone arrived with her in the kitchen when she entered and saw her parents and Inori in the kitchen. Her mother was busy fixing breakfast while Tadao read the newspaper and Inori sat and read a magazine.

"Good morning, everyone!" Tsukasa happily proclaimed.

It surprised Tsukasa when she was only met with mundane acknowledgments considering the treatment she was put through for two days. She looked around and noticed Kagami was nowhere to be seen and she called everyone out on that.

"We'll talk about that later, dear." Miki said and came over with steaming bowls of oatmeal. "For now let's just enjoy our breakfast."

Tsukasa happily complied and her mouth instantly watered when she smelled her mother's homemade oatmeal with honey and cinnamon in it. She could barely wait until everyone else got their bowls until Tsukasa started eating it happily. Spoonful after spoonful went into her mouth and she squealed happily upon tasting the sweet and delicious breakfast. As she dipped her third spoonful into the bowl and slid it into her mouth, she suddenly tasted something foreign. It wasn't oatmeal at all but rather a solid piece of matter that had no taste but rather a squishy and rubber-like feel.

Tsukasa reached her fingers into her mouth and retracted the foreign object. It appeared to be a piece of white flat rubber but the youngest Hiiragi daughter still didn't know what she was truly holding. She looked up at her family members and saw they were still eating complacently and she decided to ask about the object she held.

"What's this?"

Miki looked up. "Oh that's just skin, dear."

"Skin from the oatmeal?" Tsukasa retorted.

Miki slowly shook her head. "No...just skin. Now eat up. You're a growing young lady after all."

Still motivated by curiosity, Tsukasa began to dig through the oatmeal with her spoon looking for more until she came across something else. It was red and solid and when she picked it up with her spoon to observe it, Tsukasa suddenly realizing that what was sitting on her spoon was a human tongue.

She screamed. Tsukasa screamed so loudly and dropped the eating utensil while jumping to her feet. She felt sick to her stomach and covered her mouth for fear of vomiting but when she looked at her family, her terror only burned brighter. The oatmeal they were all eating suddenly turned into bowls of human porridge. It was all red with blood and Tsukasa watched her mother slide a spoonful of skin and an eyeball into her mouth, a well as her father chewing with blood running down the corners of his mouth. Inori also chewed with long follicles of hair hanging out of her mouth.

"What is all of this?! What's going on?!" Tsukasa cried.

"Hush, dear," Miki said calmly and unresponsive to Tsukasa's disgust and dabbed her mouth with a purple ribbon. "Kagami was a bad sister to you...so we punished her. This is what happens to the traitors in our family. Now sit down and eat the punished one, honey."

Tsukasa glanced down at her bowl of body parts and back at her mother who wiped her mouth with the purple ribbon and put it together. Miki was cleaning her mouth with one of Kagami's ribbons that held her hair into pigtails and Tsukasa was eating the remains of her twin sister. The youngest Hiiragi once again screamed loudly and started crying in unremitting horror as her family continued to eat casually.

She couldn't bear the sight anymore and made a sprint or the sliding glass door that led her to the backyard. Tsukasa ripped it open and instead of stepping out into the warm morning weather she felt only minutes earlier, she was swallowed into a world of freezing snow and ice. She looked around her backyard as she panted and everything that was familiar about it was gone. The frightened girl now stood on a vast and empty field covered with snow as the frozen flakes fell all around her.

Tsukasa quickly turned around to retreat but saw her house was also gone, only to be replaced by more of the endless white field. Scared and freezing, Tsukasa hugged herself tightly to garner more body heat until she felt her left arm begin to itch badly. She scratched the itchy spot until it became unbearable and she glanced at it. She saw the tattoo on her left arm and the skin on it was moving. Something was stirring underneath Tsukasa's flesh and to her deepening horror, the skin broke open and hundreds of worms struggled to get out of the bleeding wound.

She once again screamed loudly and clawed at her wound, only further opening the bloody gash as more of the greasy worms fell out of her wound and slithered on the snow. Tsukasa fell to the frozen ground and screamed as she still felt the filthy creatures slithering under her flesh and the fear of it was so intense she no longer felt the painfully frozen world around her. As soon as the rest of the worms fell out of her wound, the ground beneath her began to shake and tremble violently until an ear-piercing crack sounded across the frozen wasteland.

The ground began to split open all around her and separate and Tsukasa curled into a ball as she sat and cried and suddenly, hundreds of large spikes made of solid ice rocketed skyward and human bodies were impaled on them. When the snowflakes falling on her turned into freezing raindrops of blood, it retrieved more terrified screams from her body.

As she looked up and saw the bodies, Tsukasa recognized some of them as her friends. She saw the bodies of Hiyori Tamura, Patricia Martin, Ayano Minegishi, and Konata Izumi impaled and bleeding all over the giant ice needles. While looking up and yelling their names in sheer desperation, a familiar voice suddenly came from behind her.

"Tsukasa...Tsukasa..." the voice whispered.

Tsukasa quickly turned around and saw another person standing near her with her back facing her. It was the infamous twin pigtails and the body covered in the winter uniform of Ryoo High School that made Tsukasa squeal happily and with relief.

"Sis! Oh thank the gods you're not dead!" Tsukasa cried as she dashed over to her.

"Oh Tsukasa...sometimes death is better. You'll be saying that yourself soon enough!" The body Tsukasa was running to screamed but it wasn't in Kagami's voice. It was in another familiar and terrifying voice.

The twin-tailed person turned and Tsukasa once again screamed her lungs out when she looked into the eyes of Yuka Miyakawa. Miyakawa grabbed the top of her hair and ripped it off, revealing it to be Kagami's bloody scalp she was wearing like a hat and she callously threw it aside. Staring at her dead sister's scalp with the twin pigtails still arranged, Tsukasa didn't see Miyakawa jump for her until the depraved psychopath landed on top of her and pinned her into the snow, which was beginning to change colors and form into a single solid mass. Tsukasa was soon resting on an infinite field of human skin as Miyakawa remained on top of her.

"Miyakawa, let me go! Let me go! You're evil! You're a psycho! Please don't hurt me!" Tsukasa pleaded desperately.

Miyakawa formed her infamous grin and reared a mouthful of razor sharp teeth, making Tsukasa scream again until Miyakawa said, "Aw, relax my precious little Tsukasa. I'm just going to give you a little kiss...and take you into my world...forever!"

Miyakawa opened her mouth and lowered her razor-toothed mouth towards Tsukasa's neck and bit down. Tsukasa screamed as loud as she could when she felt the putrid yellow fangs sink into her neck and the electrifying pain consumed her. Her panic exploded when she felt Miyakawa rip a large section of her neck off her and the pain jolted her awake.

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Tsukasa rocketed upward and screamed hysterically as she woke up in an unfamiliar dark room. If it wasn't the nightmare she just escaped from it was the very idea of being back in the basement of Teasers waiting for another round of mental torture. As she screamed and was covered in sweat, she couldn't comprehend the fact that she was in a hospital room as the digital beeps were buried by her screams and cries for help. It was in the early hours of the morning and the sun was beginning to rise, marking her first day of freedom after her forty-eight hour detention in Teasers.

Suddenly, a nurse rushed into the room and turned the lights on, illuminating the room and she rushed over to the petrified girl. "There, there, sweetheart, it was just a dream! It's okay! You're in a hospital and with friends!"

Hearing where she was and seeing the room's setup in addition to the white-uniformed nurse calmed the sweat-drenched Tsukasa. She breathed and panted hard and started crying, "It was so horrible! I want my mommy and daddy!"

The nurse hugged the crying girl closely while rocking her gently. "Okay, okay, I'll call for your parents and big sister. They're downstairs in the lobby signing your release papers. We were able to get that paint off your face and-"

Tsukasa stopped the nurse from speaking when she gripped her uniform and squeezed it tightly. Her face was nestled in the nurse's bosom but Tsukasa had abruptly ceased her crying and was beginning to constrict her grip on the nurse's uniform. The grip was tight and the young nurse feared something was wrong.

"Are you okay, honey?" She asked.

Tsukasa remained silent at first until she mumbled into the nurse's bosom with a deeper voice, "Never better. Miyakawa-san was right. I would love the other side..."

Tsukasa slowly lifted her face and the now frightened nurse stared into Tsukasa's eyes with burning red iris's and black veins growing across her white scleras. Tsukasa gritted her teeth and started laughing hysterically as a bit of blood dripped from her nostrils.

Downstairs in the lobby, Miki, Tadao, and Inori Hiiragi sat and waited for the doctor to bring them the necessary paperwork to sign so they could take Tsukasa home. It brought great waves of relief for them to learn that Tsukasa didn't have any infections from the tattoo, but it still didn't change the fact that it was permanent and now a part of her forever. Still, the family was already considering professional removal but for now they knew the worst part was going to be Tsukasa's mental recovery. One thing they were going to be curious to observe would be her reaction to the news that the family disowned Kagami for what happened to her.

With the tempers now settling and the seemingly worst behind them in terms of dealing with Tsukasa, the Hiiragi family began to rethink the events prior to their hospital visit only a few hours ago. Maybe their decision to banish Kagami from the house was premature. News that Tsukasa was going to be physically okay in terms of the tattoo was what made them rethink everything. It was Kagami who brought Tsukasa home after all and it seemed that both the twins weren't through excruciatingly horrible experiences. Kagami did look battered and bruised around her face from Ryuji's assault on her and her apologies did seem genuine and heartfelt.

The family also couldn't help but factor in history as a paradigm that made them reconsider everything. Kagami may have walked astray from the family and made a lot of bad decisions, but none of them could simply take eighteen years of flawless history with her and simply forget it. Kagami created huge and everlasting effects on the family and just when they got her back, it seemed that they turned their backs on her. None of them said it, but they were all thinking the same thing. They missed her already and wanted to help her since she came to them and presented true and honest regret for all that she did.

"Hiiragi family?" A man's voice asked.

The three family members turned their heads and saw a doctor approach them with a clipboard binding a thick stack of paperwork for them to sign that would grant Tsukasa her freedom again. They approached the doctor and he cleared his throat again.

"We got all her blood and urine tests back now and everything came back negative for any infections or diseases." The doctor said. "She's asleep now but as soon as you sign these she can go home. If you want to let her sleep until she wakes up that would be okay with us, too."

The Hiiragi family bowed to him and Tadao replied, "We appreciate that very much but we want to take her home. We just want her to wakeup in a familiar setting so we can explain everything that has happened in the comfort of our home."

The doctor nodded. "I understand. She seems like a very sweet girl and I couldn't even begin to imagine the horror you felt when she came home like that."

"Doctor...is there anyway you could find out who did this? Surely there must be some kind of evidence in that tattoo like a certain ink or painting style, right?" Miki asked.

The doctor shook his head as Tadao took the paperwork and began signing his name. "Regrettably not, ma'am. The ink used was a very general brand and is used in almost every parlor across the country and the style was done deliberately sloppy. Whoever did that to your daughter was either inexperienced with a tattoo gun or just wanted to make her suffer or probably both. Either way there isn't enough physical evidence for the police to take. I'm sorry about that."

Miki's face burned with indescribable rage for the animal that held her daughter down and forced a tattoo needle through her skin. Miki could even envision Tsukasa's cries and screams of agony and terror for it to stop and to think that the person responsible might not be held accountable burned her inside. Still, she knew that Tsukasa would be able to identify the person who did that to her eventually. They already had a first name to go on and Miki had a hunch that this person may already have a record so a first name was probably all that they needed.

"Can we see her now, doctor?" Inori asked. "I know that she's asleep but I would like to give her a kiss goodnight."

The doctor smiled and nodded. "Of course, ma'am. Follow me."

The Hiiragi family followed the doctor through the hallway and took the elevator to the next floor. They exited the elevator and turned down the corridor and saw another nurse enter Tsukasa's room. Two seconds later, the nurse released an ear-piercing scream that echoed across the entire hospital and sent the building into a panic. The nurse retreated out of Tsukasa's room with a pale face and was still screaming for help. The doctor and Hiiragi family rushed over to the room as more nurses and a few security guards also raced to the scene.

When the doctor and three family members entered Tsukasa's hospital room, they too added their screams to the scene. The nurse attending Tsukasa after her nightmare was on her back and resting in a large pool of blood and her neck was opened by a vicious attack. The nurse's pen was lodged in her throat with multiple stab wounds and she was still barely alive as her gargling showed. Security rushed in along with more doctors to help the nurse but it was her alone in the room and Tsukasa was gone.

"Oh god where's Tsukasa?! Where's Tsukasa?!" Inori screamed.

"Security, check all the rooms and halls! Find her now!" The doctor exclaimed and the guards complied and radioed for backup while another rushed into the hallway and pressed an alarm button, making it scream across the hospital.

Only thirty seconds passed when they discovered the mortally wounded nurse until another scream echoed down the hallway and around the corner. The Hiiragi family rushed for the scene and were accompanied by their doctor and several more security guards. When they rounded the corner, the scene was just as horrendous.

Tsukasa held another nurse hostage and pressed a razor sharp scalpel against the frightened hospital employee's neck. Her eyes were still burning red with black veins in the faint whites as she laughed hysterically while blood still oozed out of her nostrils.

"Tsukasa, what the hell are you doing?! Drop that thing and let her go right now!" Tadao screamed.

"Fuck you!" Tsukasa screamed back with a wide smile. "Can't you see I'm doing the dark lord's work?! He's talking to me! He wants me to kill the fornicators! Kill them all and consume their bodies!"

"Tsukasa, you're not making any sense! Please drop the scalpel and let's talk about this, baby! Please, please!" Miki cried.

Inori squinted her eyes and saw Tsukasa's eyes. They were the exact same as Kagami's the day she attacked them with the axe. Tsukasa was high on something. "Mom, dad, Tsukasa is on drugs!"

Miki and Tadao quickly glanced at Inori and back at the hostage scene. Miki replied, "Are you sure?!"

"Positive! She has the same eyes Kagami did when she attacked us with the axe!" Inori shot back.

"Shut your dick-sucker, Inori!" Tsukasa screamed. "The lord is talking to me! He has touched me! And I will carry out his will by killing this whore!"

As the nurse screamed for her life and Tsukasa readied to start cutting, a pair of arms reached behind Tsukasa and grabbed her knife hand. A security guard was able to flank her position and pull the scalpel away and the nurse ran for it and was free. Tsukasa went ballistic and started screaming and kicking with all her might, prompting more security guards to rush in and tackle her as her family watched in horror. The guards pried the scalpel out of her hands and were able to cuff her as she flopped and flailed like a freshly caught fish and kept screaming.

Another doctor pushed through the crowd with a sedative and removed the cap from the needle. He ordered the guards to hold her still and they did the best they could with the hysterical girl. The doctor was finally able to inject the tranquilizer into Tsukasa and she immediately went unconscious. As the guards carried Tsukasa to another hospital room where they could cuff her to the bed, another doctor came to the devastating scene with news of the nurse's fate that Tsuaksa attacked.

If the Hiiragi family thought they had problems before, they now agreed that their anger and disownment of Kagami was justified when the doctor said, "Nurse Sekai is dead."

Miki collapsed to her knees and began crying in agony as the doctor ran a hand through his thin hair and uttered, "We...we might want to reconsider letting Tsukasa leave. We might also want to test her for drugs in lieu of this incident."


	36. Chapter 36

CHAPTER 35

On her own. For most people her age, the very idea of being on their own and free from their parents' household rules was a dream come true. For Kagami Hiiragi, it was the essence of every nightmare she ever had coming into full circle. As she rested curled on another dirty mattress in a decrepit motel room with cockroaches and rats scurrying in and out of the walls, she curled into a ball and cried silently under the sheets. It was the only place she could afford though it still bordered on nothing as the rainstorm outside leaked through the ceiling and dripped around her.

She was an adult and free of any foreign influence in her life whether it was friend or family, yet Kagami was devastated by this reality. If she thought the days she spent in high school always in another class away from Konata, Miyuki, and Tsukasa was bad, that paled in comparison to this. Kagami's memory was now crystal-clear with the rest of the Satan's Blood drug out of her system. She remembered everything. She remembered her vicious attack on Miyuki that left her permanently disabled, as well as the axe attack her father was talking about. She could still see Tsukasa's face as she held the axe above her head and ready to chop her into ribbons. It took all of her strength to keep her from throwing up.

If the memories of making Miyuki go blind or nearly butchering her family with an axe weren't bad enough, it was listening to the activity in the bathroom while her loins burned and pulsed after yet another round with another client. Even though she was on her own and disowned by her family, Kagami was still smart enough to know that no school or employer would hire or enroll a drug-addicted prostitute, so Kagami had to make her own way now. Because of the depth and seriousness of the depravity Yuka Miyakawa instilled into Kagami by using her brainwashing abilities and teachings, Kagami believed the only thing she was good for now was a toy. Still utterly repulsed that such "humans" existed in the world that would be willing to take advantage of a girl her age and in her predicaments, she still knew that this was a means to an income. Her body was still worthy of being touched and used and she would make sure she would squeeze every single yen possible out of herself until there was nothing left to squeeze out. It didn't matter to her either way. The way she was right now, Kagami kind of hoped the customer in the bathroom would come out and murder her after doing her.

Now that most of her memories were restored and the full ramifications of what she has done so far were clear, she remembered her first one-on-one session with Yuka Miyakawa's sister, Dr. Nagisa Kishimoto. Dr. Kishimoto warned Kagami that she was on a deadly collision course into an abyss of no return. Now Kagami knew it was too late. Yuka Miyakawa got everything she wanted. She had Kagami Hiiragi every way she wanted and the twin-tailed girl was now a part of the darkness forever. The thought of everyday from now on for her consisting of nothing but endless sex to just survive made her curl tighter into her ball and shed more tears.

The bathroom door opened and another older man dressed in a suit and tie stepped out. He fixed his tie and cleared his throat as he approached the curled Kagami under the rotten sheets. He dropped the large wad of cash on the nightstand next to her and she could barely look at it. The man also had a look of concern on his face and glanced around the room one more time, as if he feared he was being watched.

"Well, uh, thanks for that...and I guess it goes without saying that this never happened. It's nothing against you personally...it's just that the elections are coming up soon and I couldn't possibly win if the press found out I was soliciting prostitutes." He said casually and seemingly oblivious to the destruction he was furthering into Kagami's life.

"Just get out..." Kagami whispered tearfully and pulled the sheet over her head and sobbed.

The man gunning for public office complied and left the crying girl alone in the dingy motel room. Kagami's cries were the latest additions to the audible setting consisting of water dripping from the ceiling, the crawling of insects, and the squeaking of rats while they also gnawed on either the bed's wooden legs or the moldy drywall. Even though Kagami was no stranger to selling her body by this point, she could now see the true evil of it without the drugs to cloud her vision and whisk her away to a world where pain was a theory and not a reality. She felt angry, devastated, sickened, depressed, and helpless all at the same time. She wanted to stop, yet she was trapped in this existence now and ironically, this was one of the only ways out.

Prostitution was her means to an income that she hoped she could use to find a decent apartment and maybe one day find a real job to support herself. Without the backing of her friends and family though, she kept asking herself why bother at this point. Kagami wasn't sure if she could live in a world without Tsukasa by her side or even Konata to be another wing of support. She slowly sat up, making the filthy animals in the room with her scatter and disappear.

Still wrapped in the dingy sheet, there was also another thing on Kagami's mind. She had her menstruation cycle memorized and knew it was her time of the month, but it didn't come. The broken girl checked her underwear several times over the past two days and was curious as to why she didn't find blood. As she sat on the grotesque mattress and pondered this, a violent sensation exploded within her.

She quickly covered her mouth and rushed to the bathroom in a panic as she could feel it coming up. Kagami vomited into the stained toilet of the even more horrid bathroom and when she was finished, she quickly flushed the contents of her stomach and shifted back to the dirty mirror. She used a dusty towel to wipe some of the dirt and soot away to see herself. Her face was pale, dark circles were under her eyes, and she felt sick.

Kagami suddenly felt another sensation within her stomach. It wasn't so much as a physical one but rather a mental one manifesting itself as physical. She felt it slightly beneath her stomach and when she realized where it was coming from, her heart palpitated. The sensation she felt was warm in her frozen shell of a body. It was as if the small light of a candle was beginning to grow within her and assemble in a biological order creating something bigger like building blocks. What could this new entity be?

The only conclusion Kagami could come up with was one that made her eyes shrink and she felt her cold face and even pinched one cheek to make sure she was still awake, which the slight pain proved. Kagami moved another hand to the warm spot beneath her navel again and she couldn't deny it anymore. This mental feeling consuming her mind and body was inside her uterus.

She looked up at the mirror one final time and whispered, "No way..."

Even though she never expected to come back to this place even though she first sought help for her itchy rash around her privates, Kagami returned to the free clinic she was in nearly two weeks ago. As soon as she left this place, she was confronted by Patricia Martin, who tricked her into coming to Konata's intervention. So much of Kagami's life had changed within that short time period. She plummeted further down the social scale and was completely alone in the world. Not taking the help Dr. Kishimoto offered at the intervention now seemed to be a stupid move.

While Kagami sat in the waiting room again, it made her cringe to see the same nurse who swabbed her rash approach her with her file. The nurse was a bit heavyset but had an attitude that made her almost as deadly in handling the streets as Yuka Miyakawa. She was sassy and witty and Kagami could see that she didn't scare easily.

"Kagami?" She asked.

Kagami reluctantly stood and followed the nurse back to the same room where she was asked the series of embarrassing questions followed by the uncomfortable sample collection. When Kagami sat down, the nurse opened the file.

"I honestly never expected to see you again, sweety." The nurse said.

Kagami looked away. "Well...like you once told me...life is complicated."

The nurse smiled. "See I knew you were a smart girl from the very second I looked at you. It's a shame I'm reading these test results instead of a resume or cover letter from you seeking a job for a major corporation or something. Anyway, I'm afraid it's bad news all across the board. Your test results came back positive for genital herpes, Chlamydia, and unfortunately...your blood work came back positive for HIV."

The news was so devastating and unwanted that Kagami barely comprehended it. She needed the nurse to recite the library of viruses now coursing through her system again. Even the second time was no better and Kagami still couldn't grasp the concept that she was now filled with STDs.

"I...I have...AIDS?" She asked with a squeak and tears already brewing.

"You have the disease that causes AIDS, yes, I'm afraid so. I'm so sorry, dear." The nurse replied with real remorse. As Kagami's eyes vented water, the nurse added, "I can admit you to a hospital where we can make you comfortable and start you on a series of medications. It will be quite an adjustment in your life, but these diseases aren't exactly death sentences anymore. Medical science has made stunning breakthroughs over the years and people with HIV and AIDS can go on living relatively productive lives and-"

"I think I'm pregnant." Kagami interrupted.

The nurse looked up. "I beg your pardon, dear?"

"I missed my period...and this morning I felt very sick. A few weeks ago I had a customer who was having sex with me...and he lied to me. He said he put the condom I gave him on and he didn't." Kagami retorted, her eyes darting back and forth in her head in a panic.

The nurse closed the file and sighed as the stakes now seemed to have been risen. She took another urine sample from Kagami and tested it for any signs of pregnancy, which was simpler and quicker than searching for STDs. Initially, Kagami seemed to have been devastated by the news of her new fate regarding her health but she completely forgot about herself in lieu of this realization. Now all she could think about was if she truly was pregnant. How would these diseases affect her baby? If she was pregnant, how would she and her baby survive? She had quite a large sum of money at her disposal but that would only cover a security deposit on an apartment, one trip to the grocery store, and maybe a few baby supplies if she was lucky. Kagami only knew how to prostitute herself now as a trade skill because of Miyakawa's conniving agenda but Kagami didn't want to do it anymore.

The irony of it all was now painfully clear to her. The only trade she knew that she so desperately wanted out of was also her only ticket to financial security for the possible life growing inside her. It also made sense to her now why Ryuji beat her like an animal that one night before she was forced to strip for Tsukasa. Somehow, Yuka Miyakawa could smell the baby inside Kagami and she wanted Ryuji to beat her until she miscarried. Now it seemed that Ryuji failed in that objective.

Kagami waited anxiously in the exam room and when the nurse came back in half an hour later, the twin-tailed girl had an intuition that her life was going to change forever yet again. The nurse opened the file containing the results and cleared her throat while holding her poker face of professional complacency.

She looked up and said, "Well...it seems your first ever maternal intuition was right. You're three weeks pregnant."

Kagami's reaction was complete silence. The realization hit her so hard and so many emotions tried to spew out at once that they all collided and she short-circuited. The only tells she presented was her light gasp, her lips opened slightly, and her pupils shrank when her eyelids opened wider. She never expected such an event to penetrate into her world. Now a decision on her part had to be made.

"Procedures to terminate the pregnancy are also fairly simple considering how early you are in the pregnancy." The nurse said, snapping Kagami out of her trance. "We'll need to admit you to a hospital and we'll take care of any counseling you need after the procedure is done but-"

"I don't want to terminate! I want to keep the baby!" Kagami suddenly exclaimed.

"I don't think that's a good idea, Kagami, considering your current state." The nurse said. "I can see that you're still going through drug withdrawal and factoring in these STDs is also very important. A human fetus needs healthy cells from its mother to form and survive until its ready for birth. You may be withdrawing from the drugs, but the damage they caused to your cells made them in no shape or form ready to assist in the creation of a fetus. These numbers on your tests don't lie. Your liver and kidneys are heavily damaged and can't assist in the fetus's creation and your healthy simultaneously. You'll miscarry by the tenth week or less. Besides, you need those healthy cells to get better. If all of them are going to the fetus and not you, it could put your life in danger as well and you'll both succumb."

Kagami quickly shook her head and began to panic again. "No, no, no! This has to be a sign from above! This baby is a sign! A sign of a new beginning! A way to get out of this hell that I have allowed to take over my life! I can't simply throw it out like garbage! I'll become a mother! If I become a mother, this baby can give me something to live for! I can get clean for this baby and raise it in a loving home I'll build myself if I have to! It won't make the same mistakes I did! I'll make sure of it!"

Though the nurse had to admit that she was impressed by Kagami's sudden charisma and the fact that the realization of being pregnant helped her forget about the diseases she had, the nurse's experience painted a grim outlook. "Kagami, it's not even your cells or the drugs that are a problem. You have incurable STDs that will be with you forever. Even if the fetus somehow makes it through the pregnancy, I guarantee you there will be permanent birth defects to the baby. It could be born blind, deaf, mentally retarded, physical abnormalities, or be born with the STDs you have."

"But there's still a chance it could make it through the pregnancy and I could give birth to it and it would be healthy, right?!" Kagami grew more frantic.

The nurse sighed again while rubbing her eyes. "Kagami...the odds of that happening...it would be just as miraculous as a virgin birth and I have yet to see either. That's something that would only happen in a fairy tale and my dear, your life has been anything but a fairy tale recently."

Kagami suddenly latched onto the nurse's sleeve and fell to her knees on the floor. With crying and begging eyes, Kagami vented, "It's still possible, damn it! I can do it! I can get clean and deliver a healthy baby! Just give us a chance! Please...! Please help me! Please help us!"

Watching Kagami rub her stomach upon crying the last sentence hit the nurse where it hurt. She too was a mother and could sympathize with Kagami's sudden explosion of unconditional love and acceptance for her situation and remain optimistic. However, experience and science weren't on Kagami's side. Still, the nurse as a mother couldn't stand between Kagami and the possibility of a healthy delivery, even if it was a one in a billion chance. She wrote Kagami a prescription for prenatal vitamins and a series of antibiotics to fight the symptoms of the STDs. When the nurse even promised to pay for Kagami's prescriptions out of her own pocket, Kagami rocketed to her feet and hugged the nurse tightly while crying on her shoulder and thanking her.

The nurse still feared that Kagami still wasn't facing reality in terms of the diseases she now had and that she just replaced one alternate universe created by drugs with another which was formulated by being pregnant. Still, she could still see that Kagami's sincerity was true when she proclaimed that she wanted to get clean for her baby's sake. She just prayed that this new resurgence of the old Kagami HIiragi wasn't going end in the same way all the years of training and experience was telling the nurse that her pregnancy would.

Kagami returned to her motel room and rested herself on the bed after taking her first dosage of prenatal vitamins and breathed slowly. She stared at the ceiling and let the full reality of her visit to the free clinic sink in. The twin-tailed Hiiragi was diagnosed with several incurable STDs, but she wasn't devastated by this news. She was going to become a mother.

The thought made Kagami smile and move her hand over her womb and she began stroking it gently. She opened her mouth and whispered lovingly, "Hello sweetheart...I'm your mommy...and I want you to know that your mommy loves you already. Mommy has done a lot of bad things...but you're my hope for a brighter tomorrow. We're going to figure this out together..."

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The youngest Hiiragi daughter felt a massive headache slowly stir her from her slumber. Tides of pain pulsed and crashed against her brain like waves crashing on a beach and she slowly lifted her eyelids. Tsukasa was instantly startled when she realized she wasn't in her own bedroom or even her own house. She was in a hospital bed and even wearing a hospital gown. That however wasn't what scared her the most. It was when she realized her arms and feet were being restrained to the bed with padded straps. She could only move her head and midsection and she started panicking.

"Mommy! Mom...!" She cried with all her might while trying to free herself.

Miki abruptly pushed the door open and stormed into the room with a look of concern as Tadao and Inori quickly followed. They wanted to rush over and hug Tsukasa but were under strict orders not to touch her, which was driving them all insane. Still, they couldn't simply forget what happened last night. Tsukasa murdered a nurse and almost succeeded in killing another if it weren't for the security guards. The doctors tested Tsukasa's blood and sure enough, a new and unknown but still incredibly powerful drug was found in her system, which was immediately pinpointed as the cause to her unexpected and violent outburst. Little did they know that what they found was Yuka Miyakawa's Satan's Blood drug.

"It's okay, Tsukasa, it's okay! You're in a hospital and we're right here!" Miki proclaimed but still didn't hug Tsukasa.

"Why am I tied down?! Why am I in a hospital?! Please let me off this bed, mama!" Tsukasa pleaded in her original and terrified voice.

"It...it's just a precaution, dear." Tadao replied, trying to remain calm as he stared at his bounded daughter and knew the haunting memories of being held hostage for two days was adding more fuel to Tsukasa's fear fire.

"Precaution for what?! Please let me go! Please! Am I sick?! Am I dying?!" Tsukasa wailed as she continued to struggle in her restraints.

A doctor soon came into the room and was accompanied by a familiar though still unexpected guest. Dr. Nagisa Kishimoto also strolled in with her notebook and a bag of hot takeout food and her very presence began to calm Tsukasa. The family therapist took one look at Tsukasa bound to the bed and turned to the physician with a scorn on her face.

"Doctor...untie this innocent girl immediately." She snapped angrily.

He turned and looked at Dr. Kishimoto. "I do not think that would be a good idea in lieu of last night's incident."

"Last night's incident?! What is everyone talking about?!" Tsukasa still cried helplessly.

Dr. Kishimoto took a quick glance at Tsukasa and then back at the physician. "I believe I would know if we were in any kind of danger now I must insist. I know this family and I know this girl and she would never do anything deliberate to hurt anyone now I will not ask again. Untie her or I will get my attorneys involved."

Glaring at the psychologist, he complied after the threat of legal action and instructed Tsukasa to relax, which she was barely able to do. He untied the harnesses holding her down and when she was free, Tsukasa sprung up and tried to hug her mother. It both startled and frightened Tsukasa to see her mother create a look of terror upon seeing her daughter scrambling for her and took several steps back while Tadao stepped in front of her like a shield.

"Mom...what's wrong?" Tsukasa whimpered.

The Hiiragi family exchanged looks of dread with each other. It seemed that Tsukasa truly had no memory of last night and if that was the case, how could they possibly tell her that she was responsible for a nurse's body currently lying in the hospital's morgue? It was yet another impossible situation for them and just as they were ready to improvise, Dr. Kishimoto stepped over and used body language to tell them she would do it for them. She was already up to speed with everything that happened from Tsukasa's abduction to the incident last night.

As the Hiiragi family readied to step out of the room, Miki whispered, "Thank you for coming on such short notice."

Dr. Kishimoto nodded and whispered back, "Of course. It's my job after all."

When Tsukasa's family and the physician stepped out of the room and it was Dr. Kishimoto with the frightened Tsukasa, she smiled and pulled a chair over to Tsukasa's bed.

With a fearless and accepting smile, Dr. Kishimoto held out the takeout bag and said, "Are you hungry, sweety? I thought you could use some real food since I know this hospital food is usually icky."

Tsukasa was soothed by the woman's natural maternal atmosphere that so closely resembled Miyuki Takara and giggled. She gratefully took the hot breakfast food and started eating but still had a few questions regarding her situation.

"Thank you for the food, Dr. Kishimoto, but I was wondering...why am I here? Am I sick? And where's Kagami?" Tsukasa asked as she swallowed some food.

Dr. Kishimoto shook her head. "Not at all, my dear, and I'll get to that in a second. However I would like to ask you a few questions about the past few days. I need you to think long and hard about each one I ask so can you do that for me, cutie-pie?"

Tsukasa still felt nurtured by Dr. Kishimoto's calm and soothing voice and nodded with a small smile.

"Okay...now please tell me what was the very last thing you remember before you woke up here?" Dr. Kishimoto asked and readied her notebook as she crossed her legs. "I need you to think very hard on this one, Tsukasa-chan because it's very important."

As Tsukasa rethought everything, Dr. Kishimoto hoped and prayed that Tsukasa's answer would be very vague and clouded and have nothing to do with the incident last night. If Tsukasa said she fully remembered killing that nurse, it would mean a murder charge for her. She was able to keep the police at bay for now and if she could prove that it was the drugs that made Tsukasa commit the crime, the police wouldn't pursue criminal charges.

"The last thing I remember was...I was walking. I was walking down the street and going to a...a cafe...or something. I was going to meet someone I think." Tsukasa said innocently with an expression on her face that complemented her tone.

"Okay, and do you remember what happened after you arrived at the cafe? Did you meet someone or did someone ask you to come with them?" Dr. Kishimoto asked again as she finished jotting Tsukasa's first answer down in her notebook.

Tsukasa searched her memory but for a seemingly unknown reason, it was all a blur. The only thing she could remember were certain sounds. She could hear what sounded like a faint screaming, a power tool that sounded like a chainsaw, and a loud song accompanied by flashing multicolored lights. It was like trying to describe a dream from the instant one would wake up from it. Still, she tried her best for the therapist.

"I'm sorry, Dr. Kishimoto, but I can't remember anything. Why is that? Does it have anything to do with why I'm here?" Tsukasa asked innocently and was a bit worried.

Using all the years of training and experience as a psychologist, Dr. Kishimoto examined every physical movement on Tsukasa's face when she responded. She even mustered the training she acquired at a psychology seminar that was taught by police detectives on how to become human lie detectors by examining muscle twitches around the face which told them a subject was lying. Tsukasa didn't have a single tick or twitch when she responded, telling Dr. Kishimoto that the youngest Hiiragi daughter was telling the truth. She had zero memory of being held hostage by Yuka Miyakawa or attacking a nurse and stabbing her to death in the throat with her pen and it was clear to Dr. Kishimoto that her depraved sibling was responsible for the nurse's death and not Tsukasa's own decisions.

"That's all I need, Tsukasa-chan...and I'm afraid I need to tell you a few things about the series of events that have led your here." Dr. Kishimoto began and scooted closer to collect Tsukasa's small and fragile hands in hers to give her comfort and if necessary, hold her down once the memories returned and the full mental breakdown would arrive.

Outside Tsukasa's room, her family waited for what they believed was going to be the inevitable meltdown of their youngest member. Dr. Kishimoto was a professional at dealing with these kinds of issues and situations but still, telling someone like Tsukasa that she murdered someone in a drug-induced rage was only going to end negatively. Tsukasa was the type of girl who couldn't even swat a fly or squish any kind of bug because she believed she would be killing a member of a family. One could only imagine how she was going to react when Dr. Kishimoto would finally be able to convince her that she took a human's life.

"What are we going to do, Tadao?" Miki asked as she sat in a chair while gripping her head. "What have we done so terribly wrong as a family for the gods to bring such plagues into our lives? Why is this happening to us? Ever since Matsuri..."

The Hiiragi housewife couldn't even finish her sentence until she moved her hands over her face and sobbed. Ever since her middle child was taken in a tragic car accident, everything for the Hiiragi family plummeted. From Kagami's drug abuse, prostitution, assaults on the family, and now Tsukasa graduated to murderer and not a single one of these atrocities would've happened if Kagami never got into her fight with Matsuri. The more Miki thought about this chain of horror, the more she wept, prompting Tadao and Inori to sit next to her and comfort her as best they could.

As the three disgruntled family members waited outside Tsukasa's room, they heard a familiar voice ask, "Did we come at a bad time?"

They looked up and saw Konata Izumi and Miyuki Takara standing before them. Miyuki's head was still bandaged and the white strips covered her disabled eye but she still showed a concerned expression while holding a bag.

Miki looked up. "Konata-chan...Miyuki-chan...what are you doing here?"

"My cousin is a police officer and she told me about what happened to Tsukasa." Konata replied. "She also told me what hospital she was taken to after Kagami brought her home and coincidentally, Miyuki is staying here too until she can finish her physical therapy."

"When we heard what happened, we became ever so frightened for Tsukasa-san and my mother baked a batch of cookies for her." Miyuki added while holding the bag up. "But if this is a bad time we apologize and we could leave them with you to give to her."

"No, please, come join us." Miki insisted. "Dr. Kishimoto is inside with Tsukasa right now and I believe she's telling her what happened. Thank you for coming to see her despite...what she did."

"It's not a problem, Miki-sama." Konata replied as she and Miyuki approached. "We know Tsukasa and we know that she would never do anything so terrible unless something was forcing her."

Inori scooted over and allowed her sister's friends to sit and she added, "The doctors said it was this bizarre combination of drugs in her system that made her do it. But what kind of concoction would drive someone to kill?"

"Whoever did this must've been an expert on this subject." Miyuki speculated. "One can't simply throw a bunch of drugs together in one melting pot and hope or the best. There is a science to it, much like the science and mathematics behind medical pharmaceuticals."

Konata could see that talking about this was only furthering the Hiiragi family's pain. No one would say it but they all knew that the perpetrator behind Tsukasa's abduction and torture also performed drug experiments on her, resulting in the nurse's death. This still wasn't an easy obstacle to maneuver around. If they couldn't talk about Tsukasa, they definitely couldn't talk about Kagami or what she was up to. Konata and Miyuki still didn't know of her expulsion from the family and still assumed she was out in the streets selling her body somewhere or shooting heroin.

"Hey...I know you two were always friends of my two sisters...but I just wanted to say thank you for all your support. Especially you, Konata-san." Inori addressed the twins's two best friends. "We know that you worked especially hard to help Kagami and that a lot of it ended in disappointment but you still didn't give up. I personally thank you for that."

The encounters Konata had with Inori and Matsuri were always rare as the two oldest Hiiragi daughters usually stuck together in their own clique while Kagami and Tsukasa had each other and their friends from school. However, in light of everything that has happened since Matsuri's death, Konata proved to be a truly powerful force for the Hiiragi family in trying to bring Kagami back. While Inori's words were true when she said that for the most part it ended in failure, Konata still wouldn't have traded all the time and planning with them for anything.

Konata simply smiled at Inori and nodded. "No worries, Inori-san. Still...I just wish I could've done more. Even though I tried my best with the intervention and all, I sometimes catch myself wondering what could've been or if I didn't put forth enough effort. I remember when Kagami and I were in school, she would always scold me for being lazy with my homework but I really did try my hardest with everything and everything I wrote to her in my letter truly came from my heart."

Miyuki cupped Konata's hand in hers and rubbed it gently. "We all know that, Konata-san, and I'm sure the Hiiragi family does too."

The blue-haired girl looked at the three devastated but still grateful faces in the broken family. Seeing them smile and nod at her warmed her heart and reinforced Konata's belief that all her time and effort with them wasn't in vain despite the raw outcomes.

Tsukasa's door quickly opened and Dr. Kishimoto rushed out and exclaimed, "I could use your help in here!"

Everyone sprung to their feet and dashed into the room to find yet another heart-wrenching scene. Tsukasa was off her bed and curled into a ball in the corner of the room and crying hysterically. She rocked back and forth in a panic as she trembled in vast amounts of sweat while leaking additional water from her eyes. As soon as Miki tried to rush over to Tsukasa to embrace her, her youngest daughter stopped her.

"No, don't touch me!" She screamed and unleashed a heartbreaking memoir of her captivity with Yuka Miyakawa. "I remember everything now! I remember going to see Kagami...but I met the devil! She kidnapped me! She held me hostage! She kept me tied in a chair for hours and hours with a bag over my head! She held me down and put this tattoo on me as I screamed and begged for her to stop! She killed another man with a chainsaw in front of me and there was blood all over me! She painted my face with spray paint! She injected this black liquid into my body! She vroomed the chainsaw in my face as I cried for anyone to save me! She made me watch that disgusting video of men and her touching Kagami over and over again! Then she...she...she made Kagami take her clothes off in front of me! That girl...she even licked me like I was food! And then...last night...the nurse...! Oh god...I'm a murderer...!"

Tsukasa fell to the floor and broke. She screamed her lungs out over and over while still retracted in her ball and leaked her tears on the cold floor. Miki couldn't take it anymore and crouched to her daughter and collected her while also sobbing. Tsukasa's sanctity was violated by the devil Yuka Miyakawa and everyone could see that her life had just changed dramatically. Not to mention the withdrawal of the drugs was still coming. The worst of the Satan's Blood may have worn off, but it was still in her system and Tsukasa was going to have to go through withdrawal cold turkey to get it all out and to ensure she wouldn't end up addicted like Kagami.

As Konata and Miyuki also stepped forward to try and play their part to help Tsukasa, Dr. Kishimoto pulled Tadao aside and whispered with remorse, "I'm going to need to see her in my office twice a week for the foreseeable future."

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The automatic doors of a grocery store opened and Kagami stepped out with a bagful of groceries in her possession. She had just purchased a few days worth of fruits and vegetables in a growing ambition to get healthy for her baby's sake and already she was feeling more optimistic about it. The baby growing inside of her was already beginning to work wonders on her outlook on life even though she only got the news of it a few hours ago. She was even able to take the fact that her health was now forever in jeopardy because of the STDs with stride because this baby was able to give her something she had not had in awhile. Hope.

The rainstorm from this morning stopped a few minutes ago so Kagami stepped through the puddles on the sidewalk and couldn't help but smile to herself again. She was also so easily able to smile despite her situation because this baby also gave her the hope of a new family again. Ever since she was forced to leave her family's home, her biggest fear was being alone forever but now she would have another creature that was going to be completely dependent on her, which gave her something to live for. She was only three weeks into her pregnancy and she already knew her mother's words from the intervention were true. The love she felt for her child was already instantaneous and unconditional.

As Kagami walked, the traffic in the street next to her continued without missing a beat until a black windowless van came from behind her and drove past her. She didn't even notice it until the van came to a screeching halt off to the side of the road. The sudden movement caught her attention and she looked at the van sitting parked across the street and she suddenly felt nervous.

Kagami slowed her walk as she neared the driver's seat window from across the street and gulped slightly when she saw the window was tinted black and she couldn't see inside the vehicle. She spent enough time in the streets by this point to know something was amiss here so she began to hasten her pace. As soon as she passed the van, she fought the urge to turn her head and look to see if it was still there. She could feel her heart beat faster and sweat began to form across her face as she walked quickly while trying to remain subtle about it.

She approached the end of the block where she intended to use the crosswalk to move to the next block to return to her motel room. As Kagami neared the street corner, two young men her age rounded the corner and stood before her. They were loose-fitting clothes with blue bandanas wrapped around their heads and Kagami halted in her tracks.

"Hey there, little lady." One of them said in a taunting tone. "How much for the two of us for an hour? We've been under a lot of stress lately and sure could use a good time."

Now stricken with fear and believing her life may be in danger, Kagami took a step back while trying to remain calm. "Actually...I'm not in that game anymore. I'm clean and I need to get home now."

"Aw that's too bad because you'll be missing out. We're so good that you'll be the one paying us at the end." The second one added and the two took a step closer to Kagami.

The twin-tailed Hiiragi did her best to remain tough but she had to admit that she was scared. She gulped again and added, "I said no! Don't you know you're supposed to respect a woman when she says no?! Were you raised by jackals or by your creepy boy-toy here?!"

The two men glared at her and when their eyes shifted upward and Kagami read their body language. She quickly glanced behind her and shrieked when she saw the black van approach her and she screamed when she felt the two young men grab her. Her grip on her groceries was released, sending the food scattering all around her. One cupped her mouth so the rest of her scream went on deaf ears and he hoisted her up. The second kidnapper grabbed Kagami's legs as she tried to kick and they carried the thrashing girl to the van as another one dressed the same as his counterparts opened the sliding door and pulled a burlap bag over Kagami's head.

They callously threw her into the van and sped off as Kagami kept screaming inside the vehicle. In her darkness, she instantly silenced herself when she heard the sounds of firearms locking and loading around her. She feared this was it for her yet she didn't know why.

"Please don't kill me! I'm pregnant!" Kagami pleaded.

"Like we haven't heard that one before now shut the fuck up or we'll kill you!" One of them yelled at her and Kagami remained quiet again, trying to hold in her sobbing of pure fear as she felt the van drive down the street and into yet another unknown fate that was the downward spiral of Kagami Hiiragi.


	37. Chapter 37

CHAPTER 36

In the beginning, Kagami believed that she was being punished by the gods for her antics at the party when Matsuri and Misao died, which triggered her tragic tailspin. Now that she was given the news that she was pregnant, Kagami wanted nothing more than to get clean and make a fresh start for herself and her child. Even though her intentions were now motivated by purity, it seemed that her persecution was endless. She was pregnant and now being pulled out of a van by armed men who abducted her nearly an hour ago. For nearly an hour, Kagami was consumed by darkness with the bag over her head and speeding into the unknown with her hands bound behind her back with flex cuffs.

She started panicking again when the van came to a screeching halt and two men grabbed each of her arms as the sliding side door opened. They pulled her out and she instinctively started resisting again, believing her child was in danger and she needed to protect it. Still, she was no match for the muscular henchmen as they pulled her forward for several more minutes while Kagami tried to make sense of her surroundings. She still believed she was in a more urban setting considering the solid concrete she felt beneath her boots and she heard a car horn in the distance.

The henchmen finally forced Kagami on her knees and her exposed skin made contact with cold cement and just as she looked up, the burlap bag was ripped off her head and she retained her ability to see. She was in a very large and spacious warehouse that looked like it had been abandoned for years and she was surrounded by five henchmen dressed in loose blue clothes and they were all in possession of serious military-style rifles. They stared down the teary-eyed Kagami with looks of repugnance.

"What is all of this?! Where am I?! You can't do this to me! I'm pregnant!" Kagami cried.

"Still milking that bullshit?" One of them spat with such hostile vigor. "We all know you're running with Yuka Miyakawa and that she never allows pregnancy in her business so cut that crap out!"

"But I am! I swear to you!" Kagami vented with growing anguish. "Please don't hurt my baby! I'm not running with that Miyakawa cunt anymore so let me go!"

"Oh you're not running with her anymore? Your partner says otherwise." Another added with a small smirk, as if he knew what was coming next.

Kagami tilted her head. "What are you talking about?!"

He chuckled and turned to another henchman. "Bring that piece of shit out here."

One of them complied and left the group. Kagami tried to watch what he was up to through her drenched eyes as she panted but the rest of the henchmen obscured her vision. She could hear him open another door and a slight struggle followed until she heard not one but two pairs of feet returning. The henchmen blocking Kagami's view parted and he returned with another hostage. This hostage was male with his hands also bound behind his back and a burlap bag also concealed his identity. The henchman forced him on his knees too and ripped off the bag.

Kagami's eyes went as big as headlights when the identity of the second hostage was revealed. Up until this point, Kagami thought she had seen it all when it came to every secret and surprise the drug and prostitution world had to offer, but nothing could've prepared her for the ambush that was unmasked before her. The twin-tailed girl now truly believed this was it for her when she saw Ryuji Katsumoto on his knees with a piece of duct tape covering his mouth and a bleeding gash on his head.

"Ryuji! They got you too?!" Kagami screamed as one of the henchmen ripped the duct tape off his mouth.

He coughed several times until he turned back to Kagami and replied, "Yeah they got me, too. Looks like this is it for us, Kagami, but don't worry. Yuka is going to carry on our legacy. She'll keep running the drugs and whores. You were a good soldier in this war and Yuka will always remember you."

Kagami's heart palpitated. "You...you knew I wanted out! I don't want anything to do with this! I'm just an innocent bystander in all of this!"

Ryuji rolled his eyes. "You can drop the act now, Kagami. They know it was you who was working with us and that it was you who killed that boy with the boiling water."

Ryuji's lies were becoming clear to Kagami now. He was smart enough to know that he wasn't getting out of this situation alive so if he was going to go down, he was going to take her with him. This was clear since he was now lying about the true perpetrator behind the torture and death of one of the gang members when boiling water was poured down his throat.

"Stop the lies, Ryuji! We all know that was Yuka who did that!" Kagami yelled with burning panic. "This is my life and I'm pregnant! You can't do this to me or my baby!"

"It's okay, Kagami. You don't have to cover for Yuka." Ryuji furthered his attempt at securing Kagami's death. "It'll all be over soon and Yuka will gut these fuckers like the pigs they are."

Just as Kagami was about to cry for mercy again, the henchman who brought Ryuji out shouted, "Shut up! Both of you! Katsumoto...we've been trying to find you for months and now that we have you...I'm afraid that it's time to say goodbye."

The henchman reached behind his back and Kagami started panicking again when she saw him retract a pistol and he pulled the slide back, chambering a round. He walked over to Ryuji, who still held a poker face of satisfaction, even when the gang member put the gun to the left side of his head and moved his finger to the trigger.

"Any last words?" The henchman asked.

"Yes actually." He said with no fear or panic in his voice. "See you on the other side, Kagami. Long live our business."

Kagami's breathing deepened and she felt a roller coaster ride of emotions. She didn't know whether to feel anguish or satisfaction over watching this happen to Ryuji. He was the one who tried to kill her baby, yet in Kagami's old and returning mind, he was still a human being and she didn't want to see him die in front of her. Kagami also didn't care about herself anymore but she feared for her baby.

"How touching. Goodbye, Ryuji Katsumoto." The henchman said.

Before Kagami could scream, a deafening crack echoed in the warehouse after a flash of light emerged from the barrel. The right side of Ryuji's head exploded in a red and pink mass that coated the floor and splattered a bit on Kagami's face. She screamed. Kagami screamed as loud as she could when she watched the execution and Ryuji's body fall to the side and remain motionless as the rest of his opened head continued to drain the red liquid. She wanted to stand and run while shielding her uterus with whatever she could to protect her child but Kagami was held down by the other henchmen.

Her panic consumed her to the point that she didn't see another door to her left open and another young man walked in. As he approached, the henchman who killed Ryuji approached Kagami. He held the gun in front of her and asked, "Where is Yuka Miyakawa? Tell us where that toxic she-devil is and we'll let you live."

It took several attempts but Kagami was finally able to find her voice and scream out the location of her apartment. When she was finally able to get it all out, she was met with more problems.

"We know all of that. Our boys stormed her apartment only a few hours ago and the whole place was cleaned out. She knew we were coming so she packed all her shit and left. Knowing her, she already has a new base of operations somewhere now where is it?" He asked and tightened his grip on his smoking pistol hanging by his side.

"I...I don't know...!" Kagami cried. "I didn't know she left! That's all I know! I'm sorry!"

The henchmen looked at each other until they shrugged at the one playing the role of the interrogator and he turned back to Kagami. "Well then...if that's the case...then I guess Ryuji was right. You'll see him on the other side."

As Kagami watched the henchman raise his weapon to her face, it became a blurry visual in her watering eyes. She closed them quickly and flinched while still crying and waited for it to be all over.

"Any last words?" The henchman asked.

"Yes...I'm sorry. I'm sorry to my friends and family. I've disgraced the name Hiiragi and I'm sorry to my baby. Mommy couldn't protect you..." Kagami cried and squeezed her eyelids tighter.

The shot rang out all across the warehouse and Kagami heard it. The fact that she heard it was a dead giveaway that she was still alive because if the gun was still aiming at her forehead, she wouldn't have heard a thing. Instead, she jumped and shrieked again and when she realized she was still alive, she slowly opened her eyelids.

The young man who entered the warehouse only seconds after Ryuji was shot held the henchman's gun arm up into the air and the bullet sailed upward and struck the ceiling. This young man spared Kagami's life. The young man stood tall at five feet eleven inches with a broad chest, short hair, and a piercing glare on his face projected at his henchman. His right arm was tattooed heavily, as well as several others on his left including what appeared to be a gang emblem.

"What is it, boss?" The henchman asked.

The young man turned his head to Kagami and pushed the henchman back as he took a few steps towards the crying and petrified girl and bent down to her, only making her breathe deeper. His green eyes analyzed every single square inch of Kagami's body and he glanced back and stared at her.

"Excuse me my dear...but did you say your name was Hiiragi?" He asked.

Even though she was confused by what was going on, Kagami could see that whatever was happening was also buying her more time on Earth so she rolled with it. "Ye...yes...my name is Kagami Hiiragi."

The young man slowly nodded while keeping his glare. "Any relation to Tadao Hiiragi?"

Kagami's heart sped up and she gulped. Now more confused than ever, she quickly nodded again and added, "He's...he's my father!"

The young man tilted his head again and looked her over again. "And did I hear you say something about being a mommy?"

Kagami nodded ferociously again. "I'm three weeks pregnant! I just found out today!"

He turned back to his henchman holding the gun and growled, "You were going to shoot a pregnant daughter of Tadao Hiiragi? I should fucking kill you myself."

"But boss she's with Miyakawa! You know we can't take any chances with Miyakawa's bitches because of how corrupt she made them! This one is probably lying about that pregnancy and where Miyakawa is!" He snapped back in his defense.

"Tadao Hiiragi and his wife Miki don't raise liars." He replied harshly and eyed Ryuji's body. "Take that piece of shit out of here and leave us alone."

The henchmen reluctantly complied and two of them latched onto Ryuji's lifeless arms and dragged his body away to dispose of it while the young man turned back to Kagami. She was still shaking and crying from the fear of everything that had just transpired over the past five minutes. It was also clear in Kagami's eyes that she had a lot of questions and the young man asked her a simple one first.

"Can you stand up?" He asked in a softer voice now.

He helped the trembling Kagami to her feet and withdrew a switchblade of his own and cut the ties off Kagami's wrists, making her quickly back away and cover her stomach with her hands. She still trembled and shook with fear and struggled to look the young man in his eyes as her knees knocked together.

"Who are you...? And how do you know my parents?" Kagami squeaked.

"First things first. Are you hungry or thirsty? Can I get you something hot to eat or do you want to rest?" He asked.

Kagami was now able to show him a frightened and puzzled look. "Am I hungry or do I want to rest? Who the fuck are you?!"

"My name is Junichi Orihara." He said softly. "I'm the leader of this gang that I'm sure Yuka Miyakawa has told you about. I'm also sure that you have a lot of questions and I promise you I'll answer them for you but as I said, first things first. I believe that you were once a prostitute and dancer under Miyakawa's influence and believe it or not, I don't want to hurt you. I want to help you. You look like you've been through hell itself and since you're pregnant, please let me arrange a big meal for you. You and your baby need food after all."

Kagami looked around for signs of another ambush. Only seconds ago she was staring death in the face and now a perfect stranger was offering her sincere hospitality. She wanted to turn and run for her life as well as her baby's life but it was the fact that this young man identifying himself as Junichi knew her parents that kept her curiosity alive. She didn't know if her family was in danger and it was this possibility that made her slowly follow him and avert her eyes from the large pool of blood that was once the contents of inside Ryuji's head.

She followed Junichi out of the old warehouse and to Kagami's surprise, she stepped out into what seemed to be a neighborhood. A series of single-story houses lined both sides of the street where people were attending their homes and children were playing in the street. What further baffled Kagami was the fact that everyone seemed to be happy, especially the boys playing basketball or the girls playing hopscotch or jumprope. It was as if she walked from one reality into another where there was only peace. Though as calming and tranquil as this setting was, it was still unnerving for Kagami. All she had known was a world of gratuitous and unwarranted violence at the hands of Yuka Miyakawa but this new place seemed a polar opposite despite the fact that these were the same people that Miyakawa was at war with and who were also accused of gruesome crimes. One of which she just witnessed involving Ryuji.

As Kagami followed while still keeping her distance, Junichi approached one of the houses where a middle-aged woman was watering her garden. He tapped the chain-link fence and said, "Mama Sanae, we have a guest."

The woman looked up and smiled at him and the still suspicious Kagami. She replied in a jolly voice, "Oh how wonderful! Welcome to our neighborhood, sweety. My oh my though, you look positively exhausted. Let me fix you something nice to eat."

"Uh...that's very nice of you but I really don't want to be a bother." Kagami instinctively replied.

"No bother at all, deary, no bother at all." The woman replied. "Come on back in an hour and I'll have something special for you two."

Before Kagami could reply again, the kindly woman retreated back into her home as Junichi kept walking, prompting her to follow. As they walked down the street, several more boys were playing basketball until one of them missed a rebound and the ball rolled across the street to Junichi. He bent down to catch the ball and threw it back to the boys, who happily caught it.

"Thanks, Junichi-kun!" One of them exclaimed.

"You got it, Toshi-chan! I'll meet you and your brother later and I'll show you guys how to dunk!" He called back with a sincere smile, only furthering Kagami's dual bafflement and fascination.

Junichi approached another house closely resembling the others on the block and walked up it. He turned to Kagami as he fished out his keys and said, "This is my home. Please come in."

Kagami froze in her steps, catching Junichi's attention and she took a step back while also shielding her stomach again. The twin-tailed Hiiragi presented a combative expression towards Junichi as if she was trying to physically tell him that she was smarter than this. She still didn't trust him and if he thought that he would be able to take advantage of her and put her baby in jeopardy, he had another thing coming.

Junichi sighed and stated, "Look, Kagami, you're not in any danger and if I wanted to do something to you, don't you think I would've done it back in that warehouse when I had all my boys around with their weapons?"

She couldn't argue with that logic, especially when he went out of his way to save her just as one of his henchmen was about to shoot her. Kagami knew these people were nothing to play with either since they already prove they weren't afraid of the dirty work and Ryuji became the example of that. Kagami still believed that she was in danger and was honestly torn. She wanted to do everything to protect her baby, but this guy obviously knew personal details about her life and said he wanted to help. It was this single idea that made Kagami believe it was worth the risk, especially if it would prolong her existence and guide her through her pregnancy.

Kagami took a deep breath and followed Junichi into his small house and in yet another seemingly endless chain of befuddlement, she was surprised by the inside of the structure. It had quite a normal and down-to-earth setup with a small living room, kitchen, bathroom, and bedroom. There was even a small backyard enclosed in a chain-link fence but what caught Kagami's attention the most was what was in his living room. A large bookshelf stood tall and was filled to capacity with countless titles.

"Make yourself at home. I'll get you something to drink." Junichi said and stepped into the kitchen.

Kagami barely heard him over her own sudden revelation in lieu of this discovery. She slowly approached the bookshelf and gazed at the hundreds of books and stared. With what was seemingly becoming a bizarre pattern, she gawked at not only the titles, but also who wrote them. The authors of William Shakespeare, Sun Tzu, Laozi, Confucius, John Stuart Mill, Aristotle, Niccolo Machiavelli, John Locke, Roger Williams, Benjamin Franklin, Dante Alighieri, Oscar Wilde, and many more were lined across all the shelves and Kagami couldn't help but find a title that peaked her interest.

She reached up and grabbed a book entitled "The Subjection of Women" by John Stuart Mill. Kagami thumbed through a few pages while speed-reading and because she still possessed her academic abilities, she was able to quickly decipher the book's message. It detailed Mill's outrage over what he viewed was the unfair and borderline discrimination against women in the patriarchal culture of the 19th Century.

"Wow...my father would love this..." Kagami whispered to herself.

"That's one of my favorites." Junichi's voice said from behind her.

Kagami jumped and quickly closed the book while turning around. She saw Junichi holding a steaming cup of tea and he slowly approached her.

Kagami quickly put the book back on the shelf and turned to him. "I'm sorry for prying...but I just...I just...well...please forgive me but I..."

"You didn't expect to see such a vast collection of history's greatest minds under the roof of a criminal's house." Junichi finished Kagami's thought for her and handed her the tea. "Green tea with a pinch of honey. It's good for the baby."

Kagami slowly took the cup and drank a bit and could taste the truth in his description. "Thank you..."

"You're very welcome." He said with hospitality in his voice and turned to a padded chair and showed Kagami to it. "Please have a seat."

She took the offer and sat on the comfortable chair as Junichi took another book from the shelf and returned to Kagami. He held Plato's The Republic and flipped until he found what he was looking for. "In Book V of this work, the ancient philosopher Socrates believed that women as a gender were just as strong, if not more so than men. Socrates believed that women also were vital to the survival of any country and not just for biological reasons. A woman according to Socrates was charismatic, strong-willed, tough as the mountains, and capable of unprecedented amounts of love and compassion. I believe all of that is your tagline, Kagami Hiiragi."

Though Kagami was flattered, she was still anxious to learn more about this guy. "Uh...that...that sounds like something my father would say to me or my sisters."

Junichi closed the book and nodded. "I know that, Kagami...and I know your father...personally."

Kagami's eyelids bounced.

"I want to answer all your questions, but I'm afraid I'll be forced to tell you a bit about myself or otherwise you still won't understand." He added with a sigh.

Kagami nodded.

Junichi took a deep breath and began. "My earliest memories consist of me living in a group home or orphanage as some call it. I never knew my real parents so I spent my entire childhood bouncing from one foster home to another until I finally graduated high school. By that point I already had a criminal record; mostly petty stuff like fights with strangers and shoplifting some food from convenience stores because I was hungry and couldn't afford anything. I just barely graduated and was pretty much at the bottom of the class and I didn't know what I wanted to do with myself and I felt like a piece of driftwood in the sea being rocked from one place to another."

"One New Year's Eve I was out drinking heavily and was wandering the streets until I somehow found myself in a crowd heading for the Takanomiya Shrine. I bypassed your two older sisters, Inori and Matsuri when they were selling charms and souvenirs to tourists and I got lost on the property. I tripped and fell and as I struggled to get up, someone reached out and helped me up. He spoke to me with such kindness and concern for my safety and sat with me for awhile until I could finally stand again. While we were sitting as the rest of the New Year's Eve celebration was going on, he asked me about my life and what I was planning to do with it. I had no answer for him. I even chuckled at him a bit for asking, what seemed to be at the time, a stupid question. My only response was to drink until I could sprout wings and fly away. His response to me was 'well whatever you do in life, make sure you find that extra special someone that completes you. For me, it's my wife.' I don't know why but for some reason that simple concept stuck with me, even in my drunken state. I was so intrigued that I asked him to explain how something as simple as a wife made him into the decent and caring man that he was. Me and him actually talked many times and I don't know if he ever mentioned me."

Kagami shook her head. "No, he didn't, but that doesn't really mean anything. My father is a public figure so he dealt with a lot of people and he never talked about every single encounter he had."

Junichi nodded. "I see. Anyway he told me stories about his father, Taichi Hiiragi and his views on women and how it influenced him and how he fell in love with your mother. The more he talked about such an incredible connection between two people, the more I believed even a degenerate like me was capable of meeting someone special one day. Your father soon became my personal hero and I wanted to become a better man but I wanted to do something about the area I lived in first. This neighborhood you're in now was a giant vacant lot only two years ago and now look at it. I was able to build this neighborhood with some others who were sick and tired of having no one to depend on or come to for safety or comfort. Those children you saw outside all have one thing in common with me. We're all orphans. Those children's parents are either all dead or are still beating the shit out of each other behind closed doors. It's horrible...almost unbearable that such children were forced to bear witness to such atrocities before they came here. But of course...a place like this doesn't just fall from the sky. You need resources to build it."

Kagami gulped. "So you got into the drug trade."

Junichi nodded. "Yes. Needless to say, your father didn't approve when I told him what I was doing...but this was all I knew how to do and those kids never got a taste of drugs in their lives. They have no idea how we were able to build this neighborhood. All it meant to them was a nice place to live with people who will love them and take care of them. Their world is perfect because I make sure of it since no one else will. Society takes one look at us and immediately closes their doors and hearts to us. None of us are ever going to be able to make an honest living because the system...is fucked up. I will admit that I am a criminal. I deal drugs and I've killed before...but only when either one of my guys were in trouble or if a child was in danger. A question of mine though to you, Kagami."

"Yes?"

"Since you met Miyakawa and her cousin before us, what did she tell you about us?" Junichi asked.

"Not much...except that you're a gang of street thugs and gangbangers who they did business with until you cut them out." Kagami replied.

Junichi nodded. "We did...but not because of greed...but for the sake of the future."

"The future? This is drug business. How much of a future could it have?" Kagami asked.

"There is none...and that's why I've been trying to get out of it for awhile. I want to switch games but in a way...I can't. If our gang gives up this drug trade, then Yuka Miyakawa and her influence in it will win. She'll control the streets and make sure girls of all ages are either swinging from poles or climbing into strangers's cars while her body guards and henchmen beat them senselessly." Junichi sighed. "Ryuji Katsumoto was proof of that. That's why we killed him. Men who beat women, especially pregnant women, deserve a bullet between their eyes."

Kagami cringed and tried to hold herself together. She still trembled in fear and anguish as she was still haunted by the memories of Ryuji beating her relentlessly in the supply closet of Teasers. His intention was to kill her baby, which still angered her to no end, even though she watched him die before her.

"How did you find him and why didn't you find and kill Yuka?" Kagami asked while rubbing her stomach again.

Junichi turned back to Kagami. "Miyakawa ratted him out."

Kagami formed a shocked expression. "She...she what?"

"She's the one who called us and told him where he'd be and what he would be doing." Junichi replied. "I know its hard to believe, but I think Miyakawa did it for a purpose. I think she's planning something new and believed that Ryuji was a necessary sacrifice. Like my boys told you earlier, we were able to beat him until he told us where Miyakawa's apartment was and they stormed it guns blazing but she was gone. The entire apartment was cleaned out and deserted. Whatever she's planning, it could involve you and your baby, too, or your friends and family."

Kagami tightened her tight hug around her uterus and whispered, "You have to find her and kill her."

"I know. She's a plague and living proof of pure evil...which makes us circle back to my earlier point. I've wanted to get out of this dirty business for so long, but if I do, evil will prevail." Junichi said.

"Do you see yourself as evil, too?" Kagami asked.

Junichi sighed. "I don't know. All those books you see is my way of trying to find the answer. I may have killed and I may have sold the devices that became keys to people's downfall to Yuka Miyakawa and Ryuji Katsumoto but I wanted to do it to ensure that the people I grew up with and those children out there are safe. I feel like such a hypocrite and that's why I read the work of the greatest philosophers in history. Is it possible that two wrongs could actually make a right after all?"

Kagami frowned at Junichi and disregarded his deep question. "Your drugs fucked my life up, Junichi."

"No Kagami...you fucked your life up. I read about what happened to your sister in that car crash in the newspapers and it was tragic but I know your father and I know he didn't turn his back on you and abandon you after Matsuri died. Every decision since Matsuri's death was your own from the first time you called Ryuji for your first hit of heroin." Junichi sharply replied, silencing Kagami and prompting her to look away. "Now look, I'm sorry for all that has happened to you and I'm glad that you're no longer part of Miyakawa's ring. I'm not going to hurt you like I said and I want to help you. Please let us feed you and get you some new clothes and a warm place to sleep for the night and tomorrow we'll send you on your way."

She looked back up again. "I couldn't possibly take all of that from you, especially when you have all those children out there."

"You can repay me by doing me a favor, Kagami. Go home. Get out of this world forever and go be with your family. They miss you and they need you home. You're the daughter of Tadao Hiiragi so that means you're too intelligent, beautiful, and perfect to condemn yourself to this hell." Junichi said softly.

Kagami lowered her head in shame. "If only you knew what I've done to them. They disowned me last night. I can't go home."

Junichi remained silent as he watched Kagami become emotional again. "I believe that you need to tell them about your baby. You haven't yet, right?"

"How did you know?" Kagami whimpered.

"Because Tadao Hiiragi would never turn away a child, especially one that's growing inside his own child. If you did tell them you were pregnant, you wouldn't be here right now." Junichi was quick to reply.

Kagami still held herself tightly and even curled tighter into a ball in the chair.

Seeing that Kagami was scared and needed time, Junichi nodded slightly and added, "Look...I know you probably have a lot of drama at home and if you're not ready to go home just yet...then you can stay here. Everything you could ever want is here. Food, water, clothing, shelter, medicine, whatever you need. We will take care of you and your child."

Kagami suddenly felt her eyeballs constrict in her sockets and they flooded. "Junichi...I want to trust you...and I want to believe you...but how can I...? The last people who said I was beautiful and that I can trust them...they beat me and forced me into such horrible sexual encounters. Please tell me...how can I trust you?"

"What other options do you have, Kagami?" He asked.

Silence fell between them and Kagami considered everything. Could she open herself up to yet another one of society's degenerates who promised to help her and take care of her? This was a group of people who held guns in her face only a short time ago and executed someone she thought she could trust before her own eyes. In Kagami's mind though, Junichi was right and her options were limited. Plus, she had something incredibly precious to her depending on her now to survive and get healthy. Kagami also had to admit that the children in this area all seemed incredibly happy and they obviously trusted Junichi and his henchmen, as did the other citizens of the neighborhood.

A knock came at Junichi's door and a little girl's voice exclaimed, "Junichi-kun?! Junichi-kun?! Mama Sanae says dinner is ready!"

Junichi smiled and walked over to the screen door and opened it, allowing a six year old girl to prance in and Kagami sprung to her feet when she saw her. The girl had light brown hair with amber colored eyes and her hairstyle and overall appearence sent an arrow of familiarity through her heart.

"...Matsuri..." she whispered as Junichi picked her up.

"Thanks for telling us, Mina-chan." He said with a smile and turned her to face the gawking and almost crying Kagami. "This is a new friend. Her name is Hiiragi Kagami and she'll be staying with us for awhile."

"Hi, Kagami-onee-san!" The little girl cried happily.

Kagami felt a blush burn across her face and she slowly smiled. "Uh...hi...cutie-pie..."

The little girl turned her head to Junichi and exclaimed, "Junichi-kun, Junichi-kun! Is she your girlfriend?!"

Kagami's face turned bright red and Junichi released an uncomfortable chuckle while replying, "No, Mina-chan. She's just another big sister to you now so go back to your brothers and tell them I'll catch them after dinner."

"Okay!" She happily bursted again and Junichi put her down and she dashed out the door.

With her face still burning red, Kagami's heart pounded upon interacting with the child. It was as if she was talking to a reincarnation of Matsuri and she was speechless at first. Junichi took Kagami down the street again as the sun began to set on the horizon and when they arrived at the dinner table in the first woman's home, Kagami was about to cry.

An entire feast was presented on the dinner table of fresh meat, vegetables, fruits, and a few sweets and it was all for her. When this woman known as Mama Sanae learned that Kagami was pregnant, she went all out and created this buffet for the ailing girl. As Kagami sat at the head of the table and was served a full plate of hot food, she felt a tear fall from her eyes.

"This...this is the first meal I've had in...in..." she choked.

Kagami felt the woman's hands massage her shoulders and she said, "I bet it has been awhile, baby, but it's okay now. You're safe with us and away from that animal, Miyakawa."

Kagami cried and her waterworks doubled when she tasted how incredible the food was and she started downing everything, thus putting an end to her eating disorder. Knowing that her baby was going to have an incredible fill tonight put Kagami on permanent cloud nine as Junichi and Mama Sanae watched her devour the food.

"That poor child. Junichi...you need to kill that devil. As long as Miyakawa lives, our children and our girls will never be safe." Mama Sanae whispered.

Junichi nodded as he too observed Kagami. "All in good time. But please tell me, how is your daughter, Saya?"

Mama Sanae smiled and formed tears of her own. "She's going to graduate college at the end of this year...and we couldn't have done it without you. Thank you...for saving her from Miyakawa and her cousin."

Junichi smiled and winked.


	38. Chapter 38

CHAPTER 37

"I don't want this! I don't want this! Please make it stop! I can't take anymore!" The terrified and pain-flooded voice of Tsukasa Hiiragi screamed as she held her head over the toilet. Tsukasa's stomach constricted again and she started throwing up again though there was nothing left for the organ to reject.

As Tsukasa kept gagging into the toilet, Miki Hiiragi was there with her daughter on the bathroom floor of their home and was seeing her through Tsukasa's withdrawal. Getting off the Satan's Blood drug cold turkey was hands down the worst experience the youngest Hiiragi girl had to endure to date. She was forced to get off the drug with no help from any other medications for fear of what it would do. The doctors at the hospital were still baffled by Yuka Miyakawa's horrid concoction and feared that if they gave Tsukasa the wrong thing it would either result in a repeat of the nurse incident or it would kill her. As a result, Miki sat on the cold tile floor and was there to catch Tsukasa as she sat back down and continued to be engulfed by indescribable pain.

Tsukasa was soaked in sweat, her eyes were swollen from her tears, she trembled uncontrollably, and wept loudly. Miki held Tsukasa in her lap and allowed her daughter to rest on her side on the cold floor and use a folded towel as a pillow. She held Tsukasa's hand tightly and fought back her own tears as all she could do was watch. She was right there and holding onto her youngest gem, yet there was nothing she could do for her except whisper to her.

Still wincing and shaking on the floor, Tsukasa weakly squeezed her mother's hand while her frail and broken voice begged her to take the burning and constricting pain of withdrawal away. With Tsukasa's body temperature bouncing up and down, her teeth started chattering loudly and Miki began to rub her daughter's sweaty arms to produce more heat on the cold limbs.

"I know it hurts but be strong, baby, be strong." Miki whispered as she rested on the floor next to Tsukasa.

"Why do there have to be drugs?!" Tsukasa cried. "Why do these horrible things have to exist in the world?! What part of this does anybody find enjoyable?! Why was Kagami...?!"

Miki bit her lower lip and tried to hold in the tears. "I don't know, Tsukasa, I don't know. I wish I could tell you why. But I need to tell you that...I'm sorry."

Tsukasa still flopped on the floor and tried her best to control it to reply, "So...sorry...for what...?"

"Like your sister broke so many promises to you...I broke one to you, too." Miki said and started dripping the water from her eyes. "I promised you that we would help Kagami and that we wouldn't lose her. I'm sorry, Tsukasa, but I failed you on that. I'm so sorry. Please forgive me."

Miki hugged Tsukasa tighter and the two sobbed together on the bathroom floor. Despite the unspeakable pain Tsukasa was in, she still wanted to put it aside and be there for her mother. "You...you tried. We all tried...but Kagami...she made her choices. She...she did this to us. We were...we were always here for her...but she...she chose the drugs."

"You're being very brave, Tsukasa. I love you so much." Miki whispered into Tsukasa's ear and kissed her head gently.

Before Tsukasa could return the gesture, she felt another rising sensation inside her and she quickly rocketed up out of the horizontal position and climbed back over the toilet. Miki rubbed Tsukasa's back as she started vomiting only saliva and tears into the toilet and kept crying from the agonizing pain. When Tsukasa sat down again in her mother's lap, she confessed something else that was tearing her apart inside.

"I...I'm scared...of dying..." Tsukasa sniffed.

"You're not going to die, Tsukasa. This is withdrawal and it's horrible, but it won't kill you." Miki replied quickly and stroked her daughter's head.

Tsukasa quickly shook her head, throwing more sweat droplets everywhere. "That's not what I meant! I killed a person! I'm going to Hell when I die! I don't want to go there! I didn't mean to do it! It was the drugs...!"

Miki's face meshed again and she started crying again over this abhorrent fate that was forced onto her youngest daughter. Everyone knew that Tsukasa didn't take the life of that nurse because she wanted to. She didn't even know she was doing it. The real Tsukasa was asleep while the drugs took control of her body and turned her into a puppet. Her testimony even proved that when she said she had her nightmare and woke up screaming and as she was being comforted by the nurse, everything went black. Still, it didn't bring her back from the dead and it didn't take Tsukasa's infinite guilt away. It was tragically unbearable and it was going to ruin Tsukasa's life. From now on and for everyday for the rest of her life, she would be reminded of this death until the day she died. Now because of it, she truly believed her soul was damned.

"Don't say things like that, Tsukasa. We all know that that wasn't you who did that. It was the drugs like you said and the gods know that too." Miki replied briskly again to her daughter's sorrow. "You're not going to Hell. This was a horrible twist of fate for you but I will not let it be the end of you. The gods are all knowing and all powerful and see everybody's true colors when tragedies like this happen. This was that Yuka girl's doing...not yours."

Tsukasa did her best to take comfort in her mother's words but she could still see the nurse's face in her mind. All Tsukasa could think of was this nurse and that she was somebody's daughter too and now she was dead because of her. The thought was still so emotionally binding for Tsukasa that it triggered more physical reactions inside her body, prompting her to spring out of her mother's lap again and dip her face into the toilet. The withdrawal of the drug persisted endlessly while Inori and Tadao sat downstairs.

Tadao did his best to keep his usual calm and passive demeanor for his oldest daughter's sake while he heard Tsukasa suffer upstairs. Inori on the other hand was trying to do the exact same thing for her father as they both sat in the chopped up living room on some of the butchered furniture. Both of them remained quiet and held placid faces while they heard their youngest family member cry and spew upstairs in the bathroom. They had to admit though that this was sapping all of their strength that was keeping them from breaking down. Now it seemed the two of them were in a sort of staring contest waiting for the other to blink first because they both wanted to be the pillar of support for the other.

A knock on the front door interrupted their unwanted contest and Tadao quickly excused himself from the living room and it wasn't a moment too soon. Inori finally allowed herself an emotional vent and released several tears over the ongoing strife her family was sinking into. Kagami was gone and Tsukasa would never be the same for taking that nurse's life and to listen to her go through the withdrawal upstairs made her cringe and whimper as she heard her father open the door.

"Officer Narumi, good afternoon. What can we do for you, ma'am?" He asked.

"Good afternoon sir and I was hoping I could have a moment of your time. It's about the perpetrator who abducted and held Tsukasa captive." Yui Narumi's voice replied, prompting Inori to turn her head and look at the hallway entrance that would lead to the front door.

"Um...of course. Please come in." Tadao replied and allowed the police officer to enter his home. "May I offer you a drink?"

"Oh I'm fine but thank you though. This will only take a minute." Yui replied and Inori watched her father return into the house with the female officer following him.

"Please have a seat." Tadao added as he walked upstairs to inform Miki and Tsukasa that they had a visitor.

Yui took a seat next to Inori and clutched a manila envelope in her hand with a red stamp stating "POLICE PROPERTY" on it. She greeted Inori properly and respectfully while the oldest Hiiragi daughter did the same and Inori's curiosity over what she heard motivated her to ask a question.

"May I ask what this is all about?" She asked.

Yui tightened her grip on the envelope. "The statements your sister gave at the hospital about being abducted and held for two days and nights deeply horrified me and I've taken it upon myself to make sure the one responsible is taken in. Tsukasa said her first name was Yuka but was too scared to give the last name for fear of what she'll do. I'm going to try and convince her to open up and identify the person responsible."

"I see."

Tadao soon returned with his wife and youngest daughter. Tsukasa looked like death itself with bleach white flesh, dark circles under her eyes, sweating and shaking uncontrollably, and even her hair was beginning to lose color and some of the follicles fell from her head. She was wrapped in a blanket to keep her warm as Miki guided Tsukasa over to a recliner and sat her down while rubbing her shoulders. Tadao began to fix Tsuaksa some tea while Yui cleared her throat and smiled.

"I'm really glad to see you home and safe again, Tsukasa." Yui said with a smile. "I must say though that the statements you gave to some of my fellow officers intrigued me very much. I was very worried about you, as was Konata, and I want to find the person who did this to you and bring them to justice."

Yui opened the manila envelope and withdrew five mugshot photographs and placed the stack on the coffee table in front of the trembling girl while Tadao returned with the steaming beverage. Tsukasa could see that Yui's plan was for her to identify her captor in the comfort of her own home instead of dragging her to a police station and go through the frightening process in an intimidating setup.

"I...I don't want to..." Tsukasa whimpered.

"Sweetheart it's okay. These are just mugshots of girls who were in the system at one point and who I believe were the most likely to commit such an atrocious act." Yui replied. "I promise you, Tsukasa, if you can identify who did it, police will be all over the scene and she won't get away."

Tsukasa trembled more at just the very idea of seeing Miyakawa's face again, even if it was just a photograph and she shied further.

"Come on, baby." Miki whispered. "Me, your father, sister, and Officer Narumi are here with you and we'll protect you with our lives. You're never going to have to go through anything that horrible ever again but please help the police catch this criminal. There are other girls out there in danger as long as she's free."

Tsukasa gulped and her mother's words were able to reach through her defensive cocoon and get her to comply. She scooted forward as she sipped her tea for extra strength and Yui slid the first photograph in front of Tsukasa. The first one was of a criminal named Yuka Hiroshi. She was tall and slender with dyed blue hair and piercings all over her face. This wasn't the one who took Tsukasa so Yui moved to the next one.

Yuka Watanabe was the next name with a girl who had a face riddled with tattoos and a scar across her right cheek. She had brown hair and a very malicious glare on her face. Tsukasa was able to vividly remember that the one who led her into captivity did not have any facial tattoos so Yui moved to the next one.

The next name was Yuka Nagano and she had a rather plain appearance. The only thing out of the ordinary was a black eye and a few earrings but other than that she seemed rather plain.

Photograph number four showed another girl with a lot of makeup on and it was clear that she was arrested on prostitution charges. Her name was Yuka Tanaka and it was abundantly clear this one also had no part in taking Tsukasa let alone being a criminal mastermind so Yui pulled that picture away and moved to the last one.

After staring at it for less than a second, Tsukasa shrieked loudly and quickly withdrew tighter under her blanket and started crying loudly. Miki tried to calm her down but as soon as Tsukasa saw the picture, that was it for her. The memories of her being held captive replayed in her mind and she started screaming all the things that she did while in the basement of that hell.

"No don't do it! Don't kill me! I don't want to die! Oh my god, what are you going to do with that chainsaw?! Stop! Don't come near me with that thing! Have mercy! I have a family!" Tsukasa screamed and started flailing, thinking she was still bound to the chair and it took Inori and Tadao to rush in and assist Miki.

Yui on the other hand took the picture Tsukasa reacted to and observed it for herself. The name on the bottom of the photograph was Yuka Miyakawa and she glanced at the actual mugshot. She had dirty blonde hair with a single blue stripe in it, black eye shadow, black lipstick, and a very different expression compared to the previous four. She was smiling widely with her tongue hanging out and she was pulling on her lower eyelid with her middle finger when the picture was taken.

Yui flipped the picture over and read the information on her. Twenty-five years old, five feet six inches tall, one hundred and fifteen pounds. Arrested twice for prostitution and both times made bail and it was assumed she returned to the trade though just remained undetected since then. It surprised Yui that there wasn't more on her rap sheet but her police intuition was telling her that there was more. Just because it wasn't on her record didn't mean that it never happened and when she glanced up again and saw Tsukasa still a hysterical basket case, she knew that had to be true.

Yui knew now that she had a positive match on the suspect, she would be able to do some more digging and come up with an arrest warrant and mobilize a bunch of officers to take Yuka Miyakawa down.

(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(- )-(-)

"Okay...that should do it." Hiyori Tamura said as she pulled away with a small brush in her hand. She took a few steps back and gazed at her work. Though as proud as she was about being able to once again express her artistic creativity and give birth to yet another production, she wished that this one was motivated by better circumstances.

Konata Izumi sat in a chair in Hiyori's room and slowly opened her bright green eyes and asked, "So how do I look?"

Hiyori took a deep breath and sighed. She gazed at the girl she once went to high school with and felt a mixed storm of both impressiveness and disgust. Konata came to her home a few hours ago and informed her that she was planning on taking things into her own hands and bring Kagami back herself. So she asked Hiyori to help her take cosplay to a whole new dimension and Konata was about to go to extremes to get Kagami back and fix the Hiiragi family quagmire once and for all. To accomplish that, Konata was going to have blend in.

Konata's face was painted with heavy makeup that included heavy blush, long eyelashes, flamboyant pink lipstick, and her blue hair was tied back into a long ponytail. Her clothes normally wouldn't have bothered her or Hiyori but what they had to do to make them look convincing was monstrous to them. A French maid outfit was wrapped tightly around Konata's small and slender body with a skirt that would normally dangle around her kneecaps. Now they cut it in half so the skirt didn't even cover her black panties and revealed black pantyhose around her legs with black garter straps attached to a black garter belt around her hips. The top of the maid outfit was supported by two single straps around each of Konata's shoulders.

"You look...uh...you look...are you are you want to do this?" Hiyori stuttered and showed her reluctance in answering Konata's question.

Konata did her best to hide how degraded she felt in this outfit but knew it was for a good cause. She stood and looked at herself in Hiyori's long mirror hanging on her bedroom door and replied, "I have to, Hiyorin."

"But this is beyond nuts. You're going undercover as a prostitute. What if some creep tries to get you in his car...or worse. What if someone tries to rape you?" Hiyori gulped.

"I got it covered." Konata replied and reached into her skirt pocket and retracted a bottle of pepper spray. "If any creep wants to have his way with me, he better be into a lot of pain."

Hiyori scratched her head while groaning quietly to show her growing discomfort with this. "I still don't know, senpai. A lot more could happen."

"But I still have to do this. You should've seen Tsukasa at the hospital when I was there with Miyuki. It was no surprise that Tsukasa became a disaster when she remembered she killed someone but Kagami is also still out there. I have to find her and make her see just how bad things have still gotten without her. This madness has to stop before it kills someone else." Konata retorted and turned away from the mirror.

"Do you really think it's a good idea to keep stirring the pot like the way you're doing?" Hiyori asked, earning a frown from Konata. "Look, what has happened to Kagami and the Hiiragi family since Matsuri's death was tragic...but senpai...Kagami has been making these choices one right after another. I was all for the intervention and all but she attacked you at the end and made it clear she doesn't want help. What makes you think that putting yourself in danger by going to the Aku District to find her will change that?"

"Kagami does want help now!" Konata exclaimed. "But her parents jumped the gun and disowned her and I think they regret that now. If I could just find her and talk to her I think I can bring her home and settle this damn feud forever. I mean hell, I was able to get her to go to that one appointment with Dr. Kishimoto and that led to the intervention so I have to try."

Hiyori couldn't argue with Konata's logic and had to admit that she admired her bravery that now seemed to blur with the farcical. She still had immense fears of Konata going to the Aku District to find Kagami, especially since she herself was familiar with the ignominious existences that people called their lives there. Women were standing on street corners looking like they were about to fall over dead, homeless people were starving and dying in the alleyways and gutters, stray cats and dogs would kill each other and then consume the defeated to survive, and Hiyori Tamura almost called it her new home. She would've called it home if she chose to go with the dirty blonde-haired girl that called such a sordid setting her entire world and continued to purge Saitama of its innocence.

"If that's truly how you feel about it...then good luck to you." Hiyori whispered and turned away. "To think that it has come to this. Just...please be careful, senpai. That place...it destroys lives. That's all."

Konata tilted her head and observed the depressed Hiyori Tamura as she packed her makeup bag away and hid it. The blue-haired girl gulped slightly before placing a hand on Hiyori's shoulder and stated, "It's okay...they can't hurt you anymore."

Hiyori slowly looked at her with slight confusion. "What do you mean?"

"I mean that your pain and suffering is over. I still remember your letter to Kagami at the intervention. You were once in a tough spot just like her once, right?" Konata asked and knew she was right when she saw Hiyori gulp. "The creatures in that area tried to corrupt you. They tried to make you into what Kagami is now...but they failed. You're surrounded by people who love you, Hiyorin, just like Kagami is. I think you should know that if you were in Kagami's spot right now instead...I would still come find you and bring you back."

Hiyori bit her lower lip and quickly looked away. All she could whisper was, "Thank you...Konata...thank you."

When Konata left Hiyori's home and set out on her quest, the long-haired meganekko was forced to rethink several things in her life. Everything she told Kagami in that letter from the intervention was true from the self-admitted occurrences where she went through a dark phase that was nurtured by one girl who tried to make her a part of her existence forever. In retrospect, Hiyori wanted to join that blonde-haired girl and live a carefree life since she was able to make it sound so easy and even romantic. Her family though proved to be a more powerful force and they were able to whisk Hiyori away from the Aku District's clutches. Of course, Hiyori wasn't broken over the guilt caused by a sister's and a friend's death so trying to compare her case to Kagami's proved difficult.

Regardless, Hiyori wished Konata the best of luck and prayed for her to return safely. Unfortunately for Konata, she was still oblivious to the fact that Kagami was no longer a resident of the Aku District but now slowly becoming a member of something else. However, one person that was still a resident of the Aku District was the one with dirty blonde hair and once tried to take Hiyori Tamura...but it was Kagami who succumbed to her instead and Konata was walking into her world.

Konata took the train into the Aku District and kept herself hidden with a long trench coat until she made it far enough into the decrepit region. She quickly ducked in an alley between a bar and a tobacco shop and stripped the coat off. With one final deep breath, Konata mustered all her strength and stepped out into the darkness of the Aku District's night under a flickering orange streetlight and began walking down the street. The cool air of the night sent eerie chills down her back and goose bumps formed across her exposed skin while she walked down the cracked and broken sidewalk while struggling to keep her balance in her high heel shoes that she still secretly enjoyed seeing as how they gave her some extra height.

Even Konata knew this was a long shot and that Kagami was under a very strong and evil force that would do everything in its power to keep her in it, but she wasn't going to give up. She approached two prostitutes smoking cigarettes on a street corner under another orange streetlight and Konata reached into her other skirt pocket and retracted a small picture.

As she approached and grabbed the attention of the prostitutes, one of them sneered at Konata and hissed, "This block is ours, bitch! Now fuck off before I cut you open!"

Konata gulped as she looked up at them and held the picture out. "I don't want any trouble and I got customers of my own waiting for me to suck and fuck but I'm also looking for someone. Have any of you broads seen this skank?"

The two prostitutes were impressed with Konata's attitude though they didn't know she was only acting and one took the picture. It was a copy of Kagami's high school picture for her senior year and she was dressed in her winter uniform. They eyed the picture until they flicked it back to Konata.

"We ain't seen no lost whore!" The second one bit back. "Now get off our block you freakish little garden gnome!"

Konata huffed at them and casually walked away, hoping that they would let her go and not decide to take her off their block permanently. The blue-haired girl breathed a sigh of relief when she made it away from them and passed another alleyway entrance where the bright dancing colors of fire caught her eyes. She glanced down the alleyway and saw a homeless man standing next to a rusted barrel with a fire in it and he was cooking something over it. He had a dirty salt-and-peppered beard with wrinkles and spots all over his face with crust also flaking off from under his snow hat and tattered clothes. He was muttering incessantly to himself and Konata knew he was a senile man but the blue-haired girl couldn't afford to leave any stone unturned.

She walked down the alley and caught his attention and as she approached, he backed up and hissed, "Is that you, colonel?! Sir, I'm sorry to report my unit has been decimated! Kermit the Frog and his army of the Toad Republic was no match for us, sir!"

Konata squinted at him and knew this wasn't going to end well but still pushed on. "I'm looking for someone. Have you seen this girl?"

She barely had time to hold out the picture until the homeless man snatched it and held it to his face. When he began to sniff the picture repeatedly, Konata gulped and fought the urge to take a step back.

"It's clear to me now, sir!" He suddenly exclaimed and dropped the picture, allowing Konata to quickly snatch it and the faint sounds of police car sirens and a helicopter rotor blades chopping through the air slowly grew louder. "We must refuel! We must eat to our heart's content and then we will reform and attack again!"

Konata watched him return to the barrel with the fire burning inside it and he withdrew a metal pole being used as a cooking rod and pulled it out of the flames. Konata gulped when she saw a large dead rat jammed through the rod and was being cooked like a roast. She slowly backed away when he started gnawing on the burnt carcass and Konata could see she had to go.

"Um...thank you for your help...and watch out for Miss Piggy's reinforcements. She's allied with the Toad Republic, after all." Konata gulped and turned and began to make her way out of the moldy alley.

"Sir! Sir before you go...!" The homeless man cried.

Konata stopped and slowly turned to see him standing next to the fire with his pants now around his ankles and he stated calmly, "Sir...I pissed myself...and mama isn't here to do anything about it."

With that, Konata turned again and exited the alley and kept moving at a hastened pace. It wasn't until she made it over one more block and encountered a street with glowing neon signs advertising adult clubs that she suddenly heard it. She heard the police car sirens and there was more than one of them and they were getting closer. The helicopter could be heard clearly too and Konata gulped.

"Did Yui-nee-san find out about what I'm doing?" Konata asked herself and when she turned around to see three police cars accompanied by two armored Special Assault Team personnel carriers, she reacted.

Konata ducked into another alleyway and the screaming authority vehicles zipped past her. The five vehicles were all heading in the same direction and two more normal police cars also zipped around the corner and followed them, their lights and sirens breathing new waves of reality and civility into the anarchic region. The cars zipped by so fast that Konata didn't see the familiar face sitting in the passenger side of the last cruiser. The cars soon disappeared down the street, allowing Konata to breathe a sigh of relief and continue her nocturnal quest.

Yui Narumi sat in the passenger seat of the last cruiser going over paperwork attached to a clipboard as her partner drove. She shook her head and said, "God I hope this girl's statement is wrong. To think that someone Miyakawa was running a sex slave trade underneath a strip club. It makes me want to find her and shoot her myself."

"Hey...the chief said no Rambo bullshit." Her partner retorted as he drove the cruiser and kept close to the other units. "Now look, the SAT is only here as intimidation and hopefully they'll surrender once they come knocking at the door of this place. The last thing we want is for shots to be exchanged in this situation."

Yui sighed to herself and reminisced about her day. As soon as Tsukasa was able to make a positive identification on Yuka Miyakawa, she was able to get not only an arrest warrant on the spot, but also a steaming pile of revelations. One of her fellow officers informed her that they had detained a girl on prostitution charges and was a crying mess and may have been able to give them information. Yui interrogated the girl and she confessed that she was one of Miyakawa's girls and was forced to dance and prostitute herself for the psychotic criminal. It was her testimony that led to the shocking and sickening realization that there was an illegal brothel underneath the strip club and that Miyakawa, the club owner, and bouncers were heavily armed. This prompted a plan to raid the club with the SAT and they were now only minutes from their destination.

"If what that girl was telling us is the truth...then I think that we're going to be buried in bodies and paperwork by the time the smoke clears from this one." Yui growled and checked her weapon to make sure it was loaded and ready to go. "I'm just grateful everyday that my cousin and little sis are safe and away from this madness. That poor girl back at the station...she has a family too, damn it! And this Miyakawa psycho just uses people and then throws them out like they were fucking tissue paper!"

"Calm down, Yui!" Her partner snapped. "We don't want emotions to cloud our minds. It only takes one mistaken gunshot to end a career."

Yui tightened her glare and grip on the clipboard. "I don't think killing Yuka Miyakawa would ever be considered a mistake."

Meanwhile at Teasers, the club was still bouncing and rocking without missing a beat since Kagami's timely departure from its structure. Girls were still dancing from poles, money was still being thrown at them, the lights, music, and atmosphere was still as fiery as ever, and the dungeon downstairs was seeing immense activity as Yuka Miyakawa watched keenly and happily from the bar dressed in her traditional dancing lingerie. A new girl out of high school also sat on her lap and was kissing her neck while Miyakawa held her tightly and rocked her while Itou Shiraki, the club's owner, was on the phone.

As Miyakawa watched with greedy and lustful eyes at the club's income being raked in by the dancers, she grinned as the girl on her lap pulled away. She looked up at her with innocent eyes and said, "And...and you'll always be here for me?"

"Of course, my sweet." Miyakawa whispered back into her ear. "You know you can always count on me. It'll just be you and me together...forever."

"My daddy...he always misunderstood me. Sometimes I don't think he ever approved of me or even cared about me." She whimpered with a tearing eye.

Miyakawa guided her chin up and looked her in the eyes. "Don't worry. I love you. As long as you stay with me, I will always understand and approve of you."

The misled girl smiled and invited Miyakawa to kiss her, which she did. Before it could turn into a heavy make out session, Itou slammed the phone down and it made the girl jump. He rubbed his eyes and exclaimed, "Okay, that's it. No one knows where Ryuji is. I called all his contacts and everyone on his customer list but no one has seen him. You haven't seen him for a few days either, right?"

Miyakawa formed a small grin and lowered her head. She casually replied, "Why...no I haven't, Itou. I have no idea where that rascal could've gotten to..."

"Well we should probably find him and soon. I'm starting to get worried the cops caught him or something." He said.

"Oh I wouldn't worry about that..." Miyakawa whispered.

Itou looked at her. "What was that?"

"I said don't you like my roses?" Miyakawa asked and pointed to a silver vase of roses sitting on the bar that she put there a few hours ago. What made these roses unique though was that the red of the petals on each flower was painted black. The black flowers dangled in the vase, puzzling Itou ever since Miyakawa brought them out.

"I still don't get it. Why the fuck are they black?" He asked.

Miyakawa tightened her smirk. "...Symbolism..."

"Of what?"

"Oh I have a feeling you'll find out in a few minutes." Miyakawa whispered again, once again making it inaudible to Itou over the lively atmosphere of the club. Miyakawa focused her attention back on the girl acting as Kagami's replacement and said, "It's almost time for your first dance, sweetheart. Excited?"

The girl gulped. "I'm a little nervous about showing my body to these strangers. It's all so...personal."

"Don't worry. I'll reward you later. Now go." Miyakawa said seductively and kissed her again, giving the girl the strength she needed to hop off the barstool and rush to the main stage to get ready.

Miyakawa turned around and pulled the silver vase back over to her and gently took one of the roses out. She smiled at it as she smelled it and eyed the still confused Itou Shiraki. She outstretched her hand and held it out until he took it and she said, "Do me a favor and hold onto that one. It'll help the symbolism."

Itou shrugged and put the flower in his vest pocket as Miyakawa took the vase and walked it behind the stage, where it was deserted and she readied to put another phase of her plan into effect. The backstage area still had its average setup and Miyakawa started humming happily as she took a key out of her pocket and walked to the supply closet where Kagami was beaten. After setting the flowers aside, she approached the closet and unlocked the door.

Inside was the next part of her scheme. A girl roughly her age was chained inside and was a raging inferno. The white scleras of her eyes were pulsing with black veins while her iris's glowed red, a dead giveaway that Miyakawa had injected the Satan's Blood drug into her body. The girl was panting hard and was clearly ready to kill but Miyakawa had other plans for her tonight. The girl was dressed exactly like Yuka Miyakawa including hair color and wardrobe.

Miyakawa giggled while stepping into the closet and said, "Tonight, my precious, you are going to help me welcome our guests who will be arriving very shortly. You're a brave soldier taking one for the team like this...but let's be honest. I'm too important to die. I still need to teach the Hiiragi family a few things...just like I did for Matsuri Hiiragi back in the day that started all of this..."

Outside in the main club setting, Itou Shiraki just served another customer a drink and was still trying to figure out the mystery behind the black rose. He always knew that Yuka Miyakawa was full of surprises but most of the time he was always able to figure them all out. His answer to all her riddles were all the same; she was just fucking crazy. This one however seemed to have a bit more mystery and interest to it.

His train of thought was interrupted when the darkness of the night that once consumed his window was obliterated by a blinding light, which was followed by the chopping of a helicopter's rotor blades. Before he had time to ask what was happening, the truly unexpected happened. His massive doors blocking the club from the outside world exploded in a sudden fiery blast and tens of heavily armed SAT agents stormed into the club with MP5 automatic weapons and flashlights and laser sightings adding new light to the club.

"Police! Everyone get on the ground now!" The SAT leader commanded as more stormed in with their weapons aimed high.

Itou Shiraki acted out of pure instincts created by his criminal past. He reached under the bar as the club was sent into a screaming uproar and he retracted a shotgun. He pumped a live round into the barrel and pulled the trigger, sending a deafening bang across the club. The lead pellets swept an SAT agent off his feet and his comrades were there to retort. Two of them turned their MP5s on Itou as he pumped a new round and they opened fire. The two SAT agents put thirty bullets each into Itou's body and the projectiles turned him into a bloody hole-riddled mess as he dropped his weapon and died before his body struck the floor. The black rose slipped out of his pocket and glided until it rested next to his face after he landed.

The rest of the SAT agents kept filing in and tackled some of the club goers and detained them as the screaming and gunfire continued when the bouncers turned their weapons on the police officers. Outside of Teasers, the police helicopter kept its spotlight fixated on the club as the building was now surrounded by police cruisers and their lights brought a preview of daylight to the dark setting.

Yui listened over the radio and cringed when she heard the gunshots, which were followed up by the SAT leader's voice relaying, "Shots fired! Shots fired! Officer down, I repeat, officer down!"

The SAT agents pushed further into the club and broke off into teams. Two teams stormed downstairs and started kicking in doors of the underground dungeon. It was met with more screams of terrified prostitutes and customers, who were ripped off the screaming girls and put in cuffs on the spot.

"Multiple hostiles either down or detained and still no sign of Miyakawa, over!" The SAT leader informed.

The last SAT team approached the center stage, where they found the crying and screaming girl that was to be Kagami's replacement on the floor. She held her hands up to surrender and the SAT agents saw she wasn't a threat and two of them gently helped her to her feet and escorted her out of the club while also draping a blanket over her exposed body.

The SAT leader and one fellow agent stormed backstage and began to sweep the area. It didn't take long until they heard a female's screaming voice roar, "Die motherfuckers, die!"

They quickly spun and saw a girl with dirty blonde hair, a blue stripe in her hair, dark and tight leather clothes, heavy black makeup and clutching a handgun pointing at them. The girl was able to pull the trigger once, though she missed the agents badly and the agents recalled the image of the mugshot they were forced to study for hours prior to the raid. In the heat of the moment, they identified her as Yuka Miyakawa and opened fire. The automatic bullets tore through the drugged girl and after a total of sixty rounds entered and exited her body, she fell to the ground and went limp.

Silence fell upon the smoking and bullet-riddled club. The only sound was the ringing of rolling spent brass cases from the bullets on the wooden floor. The two SAT agents stood and shivered at the sight of the bleeding body and they slowly approached her. One took out the mugshot picture with the intention of positively identifying Yuka Miyakawa's body. They both removed their ski masks and helmets as one of them bent down and moved the dead body's head to them so they could line it up with the picture.

"Uh...sir...I think we might have a problem, here." The agent with the mugshot picture gulped.

The SAT leader turned back and looked back at him. "Is it Miyakawa?"

Seeing his fellow officer gulp as he eyed the picture and the dead body's lifeless face made him believe that they had an issue. The SAT leader turned back down to the body and suddenly spotted something they missed before. A black foreign object was nestled in-between the dead girl's breasts and he reached down and pulled it up.

"What the fuck is this supposed to be?" The SAT leader asked.

His partner looked up and saw a black rose in his leader's hand. He saw that same flower somewhere before and looked around the room to try and find it again. He suddenly spotted another single black rose sitting in a small vase with a tag wrapped around the stem. The SAT agent approached the flower and read the tag.

"For my cousin, Ryuji. With love, Yuka." He read and turned back to his leader. "What the hell does that mean, sir?"

The SAT leader frowned and threw the rose he held away and sprung to his feet. "It means we got the wrong fucking girl! That fucking bitch knew we were coming! I want a perimeter around this place now! Seal off a six block radius! No one gets in or out, you understand?!"

"Yes, sir!" He replied and relayed the order to the other officers and the police helicopter outside.

What made the situation even worse for them was the fact that the police helicopter was watching the scene the entire time and had Teasers under the spotlight before, during, and after the raid. The only people that came in and out of that building were the SAT officers. No one else left otherwise they would've seen them. Unbeknownst to them, Yuka Miyakawa was right below their feet.

Using the same tunnel under the street that connected Teasers to Jiro Shiraki's pawn shop across the street, Yuka Miyakawa strutted through the dirty shallow water with a flashlight and Kagami Hiiragi's cell phone in her hands. She shined the beam onto the phone and eyed a picture of the family house and shrine, making Miyakawa grin.

"The Hiiragi household. How lovely..." she whispered to herself and navigated through the sewer and made her escape.


	39. Chapter 39

CHAPTER 38

Three weeks after the raid on Teasers resulted in four dead people and the business shut down and destroyed, little changed for the parties involved, including the Hiiragi family. Tsukasa locked herself in her room for nearly an entire day and night when news of Yuka Miyakawa's escape rocked their household but after three weeks had passed and nothing happened, the youngest Hiiragi daughter began to breathe easy again. Her family and the police were able to convince her that Miyakawa was running scared and that it was only a matter of time until she was captured or killed. As a result, Tsukasa's withdrawal symptoms eventually cleared and now she had to face another challenge; learning how to live without Kagami and look up to Inori for everything. However, the police and especially Yui Narumi were still baffled by how Yuka Miyakawa knew they were coming for her and the investigation was still ongoing.

Konata Izumi however remained persistent in her extremism when it came to tracking Kagami down. Each night she would reassemble her seductive wardrobe and return to the Aku District to try and find Kagami and each night was met with different results. One night would be a complete waste while the next night she would encounter a prostitute or junkie who had seen Kagami before but couldn't offer any help. The only promising lead Konata ever got was that one junkie saw Kagami coming and going from an old and rickety apartment complex, which Konata investigated. When she did though, she found it abandoned and the inside of Miyakawa's apartment riddled with bullet wounds and spent casings. Still, she didn't give up and averaged only a few hours of sleep a day until she would start the whole process over again the next night. Fortunately for her, none of her quests were met with any hostiles trying to harm her so far.

As for Kagami herself, she was slowly but surely becoming more comfortable with her new setting. Although she was still nervous and felt paranoid in the beginning, she did become quickly accustomed to Junichi Orihara's treatment of her. Her health was slowly to returning, at least to where she returned to her normal body weight. Kagami stayed in the woman's home known as Mama Sanae, who was seen as a sort of "den mother" to the whole neighborhood. Each morning, Kagami was served breakfast in her warm and comfortable bed and given the full royal treatment at Junichi's orders. True to his word, Junichi also made sure Kagami was well taken care of with new and better clothes and medication for her diseases and for the baby. Still, Kagami's street smarts were still alive and she couldn't shake the feeling that Junichi was trying to work some angle or that he was hoping to get something out of her whether it was information regarding Yuka Miyakawa or something else.

She did remember though that it was her decision to stay with him and his gang in the neighborhood and that she could leave anytime she requested transportation. She just hoped it wouldn't end like the last time she said she wanted out of something and wanted to go home. Kagami still believed though that she was safe and there was no danger regarding Junichi, especially when she would see him with the children of the neighborhood. He was a superhero to them and what impressed her the most was that he knew each and every one of them personally and there was over forty of them living in the neighborhood. He knew not only their names, but every detail about them whether it was their history that led them to the neighborhood, their likes, their dislikes, and even favorite foods. She started seeing him in a new light and started questioning if she was staying at the neighborhood just because she wasn't ready to tell her family about her pregnancy, or if it was because of another reason.

On this especially warm and sunny day, Kagami watched from under a tree with a glass of iced tea in her hand as Junichi read a book to a group of children in a small park also built by him and his gang. She watched with a small smile on her face as the ten children crowded around him and whenever he finished a page, he would turn the book to show them the pictures. The twin-tailed girl giggled slightly at the sight and subconsciously moved her hand over her uterus and began to stroke it gently.

"Hey precious, it's mommy here," Kagami whispered. "I just want you to know that no matter what happens, I'm always going to be here for you. You'll never know a lonely day in your life. But I am scared about becoming your mommy. I love you so much already...but I'm scared of being alone too. Maybe one day we'll have a whole family together."

"Okay, who wants ice cream?!" Junichi's voice exclaimed happily, making Kagami look up.

The children cried happily and Kagami smiled while watching them bounce up and down with so much vigor.

"Rei has ice cream so go find her and attack! Charge!" Junichi replied with just as much vigor in his voice and the kids turned and started running to one small house nearby where another woman was living and always had treats for the kids.

When Junichi was alone, he stood up and turned his head to see Kagami sitting under the tree and he began walking towards her. Kagami ceased her giggling as he sat down next to her wearing a black muscle shirt exposing his muscular tattooed arms, tattered cargo pants, and a black baseball cap turned backwards. When he sat down next to her, he removed the cap to scratch his head and removed the dark sunglasses shielding his eyes.

"How are you feeling today?" He asked.

"I'm fine. Same as always." Kagami replied. "You're really good with those kids. I can see that they just think the world of you."

Junichi chuckled. "Well its actually me that thinks the world of them. Still, I'm glad you think that, Kagami. I try to be a positive role model not just for them but for everyone here."

"Since you're here though, I was hoping I could ask you a question about them." Kagami said.

"I'm all ears," Junichi replied.

Kagami cleared her throat and said, "Don't you think that all these children will be better off in a governmental system that protects children?"

"No." Junichi sharply replied, barely giving Kagami enough time to ask her question. "I'm sorry Kagami, but I don't trust governments and I believe that those children are safer here than in some system that takes everything that makes them beautiful and turns them into just another number. Besides, we don't know what kind of person will get custody of those children. It could be someone good like your father or it could be the next Yuka Miyakawa. Take it from me, someone who was a child of the system at one point. Don't trust them because a child's voice doesn't mean shit to them, even though that voice is the one that is the most important."

Kagami turned her head and watched more of the children play in the streets. "It just seems so strange to me. All my life I've only known such concepts as doing things by the books and calling the appropriate officials when issues like this arise."

"I know how to look after these people and those children because I'm the one who knows all of them personally. I even saved some of them from broken and abusive homes. Mama Sanae was forced to endure so many physical beatings from her scum-sucking husband so he wouldn't attack their daughter, Saya." Junichi added. "I came in and brought both of them here. They were able to rebuild their lives here and Saya is going to be able to finish college in peace."

Kagami nodded slightly. "Look, I know that these people respect you here. I just never thought it was possible for such a place to exist without government influence or anything. It's like some kind of peaceful anarchy."

"Sometimes anarchy is necessary. If you look around at political systems and government influences, they create easy scapegoats for laziness and incompetence." Junichi replied and scratched his head again. "If someone's kids are taken away by the system or they believe they're being screwed over, pointing the finger at the government makes it easier for them. If governments didn't exist, people would have no one to blame for their stupidity but themselves. Anarchy to me is necessary at times because it shows everyone their true colors."

Kagami huffed and turned away. "That's sounds like something I would expect to hear from Yuka Miyakawa. She's an anarchist so show me the logic that anarchy is a good thing."

"I never said anarchy was a good thing." Junichi retorted, earning another look from Kagami. "I'm saying that anarchy unmasks us and shows us who we really are underneath. You're right, Kagami. Miyakawa is a psychotic anarchist and it is because of that that her true self is revealed. She also lives in a world where the rule of law is unwelcome and look what she turned it into. We were cast out as well with no government to come help us and look what we turned it into here. Also, without a government, we would probably never know the true Miyakawa. There would be no judicial system where a lawyer would rush to her aid to cover up her true colors, there would be no politician that would use her horrid existence to pass new laws or have old laws revoked and there would be no media enterprise that would use her as a poster child to further their own agenda. When there is anarchy...truth finally arrives and the Miyakawa's of the world and the saints of the world are revealed. I'm not advocating the overthrow of any government, I'm just saying that anarchy is completely unbiased, much like the state of nature according to Thomas Hobbes."

Kagami gulped as she looked at him. "I...I don't believe you, Junichi."

"I don't believe that, Kagami. You're a smart girl and I think you know a thing or two about the world you live in and-" Junichi started.

"That's not what I meant. I meant that I don't believe that you graduated at the bottom of your class and that you never went to college or anything." Kagami stated with awe in her voice. "You're so well spoken and intelligent and see things from a very unique perspective. I may not agree with everything, but you still make me think about different things and you shine an interesting light on these kinds of issues."

Junichi smirked and shook his head. "I'm just taking an example from your father. He was the first male role model in my life and was able to make me think of these different things. I never saw women as anything special either before until I met him, either. Your mother must be very happy with him, too."

Kagami grinned slightly and felt a bit of pride knowing that her father had such a profound impact on a young man's life and he was able to turn things around and seek the light.

"Speaking of your mother, that reminds me of something." Junichi added, prompting Kagami to look at him again. "I actually have a gift for you, Kagami."

"A gift?"

"Yes. It's at my home right now and I would like to give it to you now. I think you'll like it very much." Junichi stated calmly and climbed to his feet and turned.

He looked back down and saw Kagami slowly standing up and he held out his hand to her and she smiled and took it. Junichi helped her to her feet and when Kagami stood, something phenomenal happened. The two froze simultaneously with their hands connected and they stared at their two joined body parts. None of them spoke a word. They just simply stared at each other's cupped hands and the world around them suddenly felt surreal. Waves of adrenaline engulfed them both and Kagami inadvertently gulped.

"...Junichi..." she whispered and with so many emotions in the name.

Junichi suddenly snapped out of his trance and quickly withdrew his hand. "Um...excuse me, Kagami. I apologize for spacing out like that. I didn't mean to frighten you."

Kagami gasped and felt an emotional spike that presented itself as a slight blush and she formed a quick frown and she quickly moved some of her hair over her ear. She reared her old tsundere side when she snapped, "It...it's fine. Just...just don't let it happen again. I mean, you're a criminal, right? I'm not thinking about anything either and you better not be either."

Junichi tried to hide the slight red on his face as he turned and replied, "I'm...I'm not. Sorry again. Please, this way."

The two walked together though more uncomfortably this time through the neighborhood and past more people. Everyone was very polite and greeted them with hospitality, though some starting whispering as they kept walking. Kagami had a feeling she knew what they were talking about, especially when they passed two people and she was able to hear the word "couple." She just shook her head and tried to brush it off as the two finally made it to Junichi's house.

Kagami still had to glance at Junichi's massive bookshelf to make sure she still wasn't dreaming but the books were still there. She turned her head and saw the small table that acted as his dining table and the twin-tailed girl saw a white cloth covering two identical items. Junichi walked over to the table, latched onto the white cloth, and turned back to Kagami.

"Do these look familiar, Kagami?" He asked and pulled the white cloth off.

It took a second for Kagami to register what she was seeing but when the realization came to fruition, she felt a massive lump form in her throat. Her eyes constricted and flooded with tears and her lips quivered as she slowly stepped forward and outstretched her shaking hands. She prayed that what was sitting before her wasn't a dream and that they were really there. When her fingers touched them and she felt them, she started crying.

Kagami gazed with watery eyes at two silver candleholders, a pewter plate, and a solid gold statue of Buddha. These were a few of the same artifacts that Kagami stole from her mother in the beginning to help pay for her drug addiction. Now here they sat and Kagami couldn't believe it. She quickly hugged the items and kept crying over them and when she realized who brought her to them, she put them back down and turned to Junichi.

"Are these my...my..." Kagami wept.

"Your mother's family heirlooms? Yes. I'm sorry though, but these were all I could recover." Junichi replied. "To keep the peace between us and Miyakawa when we had it, we would occasionally do business with the pawn shop. I found these and bought them and decided to hold them until I would see Tadao again."

Junichi barely had time to finish his briefing until Kagami jumped up and hugged him tightly while still crying on his shoulder. He knew that she would be happy but didn't expect such an exuberant reaction out of her as she finally released him and wiped her eyes.

"Thank you...thank you so much. You have no idea what this means to me..." Kagami hiccuped.

Junichi cleared his throat and scratched the back of his head slightly. "It...uh...it was nothing. I saw your mother's family name engraved on the bottom of each item and I assumed that they were used to get drug money."

Kagami nodded with shame. "They were but now I have at least some of them back. I need to get these home."

Junichi looked up quickly and gulped. "Does...does this mean that you'll want me to arrange a ride for you?"

Kagami's joyous euphoria suddenly halted when she heard the question. She slowly turned back to Junichi and gulped. "I uh...I guess so. Could...could you do that?"

Junichi averted his eyes and mimicked Kagami's throat gesture. "Ye...yes. Yes I could and I will for you. Just say the word and you can leave right away...if you want to."

"Uh...yeah." Kagami stuttered and realized the two of them were locked in a strange game. "I uh...I guess...I guess you should...you know...call that ride. Or something."

Junichi nodded slightly. "Okay...I will."

Junichi slowly walked past Kagami as she turned away again to stare at her mother's heirlooms again and she heard his footsteps start to head for the front door. What was this cosmopolitan of emotions that they were both feeling? It was like a mixture of adrenaline, fear, sadness, and even a touch of happiness that manifested into physical ticks such as their stuttering, blushing, and sweating. Kagami slowly reached down and clutched one of the silver candleholders and held it to her chest and formed a sad face. As she sighed to herself, Junichi's footsteps stopped. The two stood with their backs facing each other.

An eerie pause came until Junichi turned again and uttered, "Kagami, I uh-"

"Ye...yes, Junichi?" She asked as she spun around and saw a slight blush on his face, making her form one on her own.

Junichi took a deep breath and forced out, "Kagami...would you...would you...come to dinner with me tonight?"

A fully red blush painted across Kagami's face and she felt her heart speed up at the formal request. She gulped again and did the only thing she knew how to do when her emotions flared up. She became defensive and snapped through her burning blush, "You...you idiot. Why are you saying such things all of a sudden? Don't...don't you know that it's rude to just come out and surprise a lady like that?"

Junichi gulped again but tried to hide it by smirking. "Forgive me and I feel quite awkward about asking this, but I would very much appreciate your company tonight. Of course if you don't want to, I understand and I will go and arrange a ride for you right now."

As he turned again and took a single step forward, Kagami stated, "Wait."

He stopped and turned his head back to face her.

Kagami was holding the silver candleholder in one hand while twirling the fingers on her other hand around one of her pigtails nervously. She took a deep breath herself and replied, "I...I would like that."

Junichi formed a small smirk and turned around completely to face the still blushing Kagami. "Perfect. Dinner is at seven."

Kagami tried to hide the smile tugging at the corners of her mouth as she ran more hair over her ear while still blushing. "Uh...what should...what should I wear?"

He chuckled slightly and replied, "Talk to Mama Sanae about that. Tell her I asked you to dinner and she'll help you with that. It'll be a surprise."

Still feeling the unfamiliarity with such formalities, Kagami gulped again and nodded. This was the first time that anyone had ever asked her on a real date before and she still felt nervous but was still intrigued by the offer. She was still getting clean and her senses were returning to normal, which meant that any other day of the week she would've refused to go on a date with a criminal and gang leader like Junichi Orihara but she still found him fascinating. He seemed to be an infinite paradox in terms of being a hardened street thug with both a heart of gold and a seemingly sharp intellect. It was this plus his royal treatment of her that persuaded her to agree to seeing him for dinner later that night. Kagami had to admit that ever since she arrived there after she identified who she was, she was treated like a queen and this could be her way of paying back the hospitality. After all, it was just one dinner. Kagami was already trying to convince herself that is was simply that and nothing else.

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With Kagami missing from Konata's world, the blue-haired girl found more and more refuge in Hiyori Tamura. Konata was beginning to confide in her more about how truly pained she was that Kagami was seemingly throwing her life away and how it was still disheartening for her to return home from the Aku District empty-handed every night. During their high school days, Hiyori always looked up to Konata as a sort of role model and even leader for the otaku lifestyle and never believed that it would be her who would one day be playing the role of the support beam for her.

Konata was always flamboyant and never afraid to express herself but at the same time she was still human and capable of having her feelings hurt. That was definitely the case with Kagami. The more and more Konata put herself at risk for the twin-tailed Hiiragi every night in the Aku District and each time she came up empty, she felt a mixture of both guilt and frustration. Guilt that she couldn't find Kagami and frustration that it had to come to something like this. She also felt guilt because she was still considering giving up for good.

To keep her mind off Kagami and the sordid debauchery of the Aku District until nightfall, Konata thumbed through the vast selection of manga books at Gamers. Her eyelids were heavy and she yawned a few times as she waited for her other friend. When she felt Hiyori tap her on the shoulder and greet her, Konata smiled again and showed her usually happy self again.

"Hey there, Hiyorin." She giggled. "You're a little late."

The long-haired girl smiled and replied quickly, "Well it seems that you're rubbing off on me then if that's the case."

Konata formed her cat-like grin and giggled again and turned back to the manga. "Good. Then that means my influence is spreading."

"So was there anything in particular you were looking for today, senpai?" Hiyori asked as the two friends navigated through the aisles.

Konata shook her head. "No, not really. I'm just feeling one of those days where I just want to be in the crowd. I keep coming here and going to work at the cafe to keep reminding myself of all the good things in my life. I do want to talk to you about something though. It's about Kagami."

"Are you any closer to finding her?" Hiyori's interest perked up upon hearing the new topic.

The blue-haired girl sighed, giving Hiyori the answer she needed but Konata added more. "Actually...I was thinking about calling it quits after tonight."

Hiyori gasped slightly and allowed Konata to continue.

"I mean, it has been more than two weeks and still nothing. I've gone all over that district at least once with a few spots I checked twice just to be safe and no one has seen Kagami." Konata said with remorse. "After that whole apartment lead I got a week ago turned out to be a dead end, the trail went cold completely."

"But what about the Hiiragi family? Didn't you tell me when you first started this that you were doing this for them as much as you were for Kagami?" Hiyori replied. "I mean if you don't want to put yourself in danger anymore I don't think anyone would blame you and I totally understand why, but what about them? Don't you think they still miss Kagami and are praying for her to come home soon?"

Konata gulped. "I'm actually trying my best not to think about them and for one reason. The reason is after scouring that section of the city for so long...I believe the chances of me coming across Kagami and her still being safe and unharmed are becoming less and less likely. I don't even want to think about what that would do to them...especially Tsukasa. Remember the intervention?"

Hiyori nodded.

"I can still see Tsukasa sitting in the middle of that street and crying her eyes out as Kagami ran away from us." Konata reminisced and felt her voice tighten towards the end. "I never saw her that upset before in my life and for me to keep going out there..."

Konata paused and stopped walking, making Hiyori uncomfortable. It became even more serious for her when she saw Konata's green eyes begin to flood.

Her voice tightened again and she forced out as tears streamed down her face, "And if I actually...find her...body..."

Konata dropped two manga books and she quickly covered her face and started crying. Hiyori stepped over to her and pulled her into a soft hug as Konata vented her emotions quietly as to not draw attention to them. Though Konata tried to stay strong, she still had to latch onto Hiyori's sleeves of her shirt and tighten her grip on them to try and squeeze out more of her frustration and anguish over the very idea of her being the one that would come across Kagami's remains one day. Hiyori didn't complain or even regret coming to meet Konata today, even though she had an idea that this was how her encounter with her was going to turn out. The taller but still younger girl who looked up to Konata just tightened her hug around her and stroked her head gently. Still, Hiyori hated to see Konata like this and it was beginning to takes its toll on her. She believed that she needed to discuss something important with her regarding her friendship to Kagami and what it ultimately appeared to be doing to the blue-haired girl.

After Hiyori bought those two manga books for Konata as her treat, she guided her ailing friend to another outdoor cafe in a similar setup to a previous conversation she had with Patricia Martin regarding their discourse on their friendship after Kagami's violent assault on Miyuki Takara. Hiyori bought the two of them a drink and the gesture helped calm Konata down, much to the former's relief.

"I understand how you feel. We all saw Tsukasa sitting in the middle of that street and crying and screaming herself senseless. It still blows my mind that Kagami was so easily able to just walk away from her." Hiyori sighed. "But I don't think you have to be worried about stumbling across Kagami's body. She's tough as nails and I have a hard time believing that she's, well, you know."

Konata nodded slightly.

"And Konata...I have to say something to you. I think you're investing way more into this friendship than you should." Hiyori said quickly and seemed oblivious to what she vocalized, even when Konata leered at her as she continued. "Kagami has done too much to us at this point. She's attacked you, Miyuki, her own family, and has brought nothing but fear to all of us. Patty-chan and I were having a conversation like this shortly after Kagami attacked Miyuki and Tsukasa and to be honest...we're tired. We're tired of opening door after door for Kagami only to have her slam all of them in our faces. I think it's time we-"

"We what, Hiyorin? We what?" Konata snarled.

It was at this point that Hiyori could see the anger brewing in Konata's eyes. Hiyori knew that Konata and Kagami shared a special friendship and that this was going to be very hard but the long-haired meganekko believed that it was something that needed to be said.

"I think it's time we cut all ties with Kagami and her family for good and that includes trying to find her." Hiyori forced out. "I'm worried about you, senpai. We all are. You dressing like that and putting yourself in harms way on what keeps proving to be futile quests to find Kagami; it's just very hard to watch. Each time you go in there you're playing Russian Roulette with your life and sooner or later you're gonna run out of luck and-"

"That's enough, Hiyori!" Konata exclaimed angrily, garnering some attention from onlookers in the public setting. "How could you be so heartless?! I know I was saying I was thinking of giving up my searches for her but how could you so easily turn your back on the Hiiragi family like that?!"

Hiyori gulped. "We just...we just want to stay out of the drama. That's all. I mean look at what it's doing to you."

"I'm here for them as much as I am for Kagami!" Konata snarled back. "If that's the way you feel then maybe you are the one who isn't my true friend! You guys can cower in the corners if you want but I need to be there for Tsukasa and her family! If you saw what I saw at that hospital with Miyuki, it would break your heart! Nothing is going to stop me from being there for them and if I'm alone in it then so be it! It just proves that you and the others are a bunch of damn cowards! Thanks for the drink, Hiyorin!"

Konata stood and stormed off, also leaving the manga books Hiyori bought for her. The long-haired girl sighed and rubbed her eyes under her glasses and shook her head. She didn't want to see herself as a coward but still honestly believed that Konata was playing with fire when it came to the Aku District and finding Kagami. Hiyori knew that they all tried their best and they wrote their true feelings to Kagami during the intervention but she made it clear at the time that she didn't want to listen. Of course, many things had changed since then but Hiyori, as well as the others, only heard the rumors riddled with plot holes in the process.

It was a long walk back home for her and with each step, her conscience became heavier. Konata's earlier words still echoed in her mind and she hoped that they weren't true. Hiyori hoped that she wasn't a coward inside nor did she want anyone to see her as one. She did regret that the Hiiragi family was in pain but wasn't willing to go to the extremes that Konata was to get Kagami back. Everyone always used to whisper about the possibility of the blue-haired girl harboring deeper emotional feelings for Kagami but no one ever spoke of it.

As soon as Hiyori returned to her home, she unlocked the front door and entered it. "Hello? Is anybody home?"

No one answered.

She shrugged and assumed everyone had stepped out for the moment though she didn't mind. She had an idea for a plot for a new doujin story for awhile and a moment of peace and quiet to work on it was actually a silver lining to coming home to an empty house. The long-haired girl tried to put Konata's spout away for the moment and give her some time to cool off. No one could blame Konata for being emotional about Kagami but Hiyori still believed she was in the right for not wanting any part of the Hiiragi family drama after the intervention.

As she walked up to her room, she still found it strange that her house was disturbingly quiet as she neared the top of the stairs. She opened her door and slowly pushed it open and peered in as the door made its eerie creaks. Hiyori looked in her room and found it untouched, just as she left it this morning. Still, she couldn't shake a strange sixth sense she was feeling as she closed the door and walked in.

She dropped her bag and sat down at her workstation to think. As she rocked back and forth in her chair, she started talking to herself while not noticing the closet door behind her was slowly opening. "Okay...I got the setup in my head. The story will take place in the future...and it'll be a cross between a sci-fi action story and a love story. I never drew action before but I always need to test my skills. The plot will be of a post-apocalyptic world where all of mankind is ruled by a single kingdom and everyone else is a slave. A girl is the heir to the throne in the kingdom...I can see her now. Tall...blue eyes...minty green hair...slender...and quiet. Not because she's frigid...but because she's deep and her heart is heavy with pity for the commoners. Then one day...her eyes meet a small girl with salmon-colored hair and light green eyes. They fall in love...and their romance is a taboo..."

"That sucks." An unfamiliar female's voice snapped from behind Hiyori.

Hiyori jumped so high that her head nearly broke through the ceiling as she screamed and spun around. She screamed loudly when she saw a girl with dirty blonde hair with a newly added putrid green stripe to it and was dressed in maliciously black and tight clothes revealing all her curves. She held her hands on her sculpted hips and shot a sinister smile with frowning eyebrows at Hiyori, who shot up from her seat and backed into a corner of her room while panicking.

"Who...who are you?! What do you want?!" Hiyori shrieked. "Is this a robbery?! We don't keep cash in the house and we're not rich so please just get out!"

The girl rolled her eyes and giggled. "Oh shut the fuck up, Hiyorin."

Hiyori suddenly froze. "How do you know my nickname?! Who are you?!"

"You mean...you don't remember me?" She asked. "Maybe this will ring a bell. Only the depraved will completely rid themselves of fear. The fear of disapproval makes one strive to be a good person and a fear of being helpless gives one the motivation to seek out strength themselves. Fear is a driving force and a creator of order in the civilized world. However, the amount of fear that exists in the world far exceeds the amount of actual danger. Still, the actions of people are still motivated by fear. Fear of being caught, fear of being ostracized, fear of shame, everything you could imagine. Once you truly let go and give into the darkness, only then will you truly rid yourself of fear and know true freedom and power. Tell me, Hiyori Tamura, do you fear me?"

Hiyori felt her knees quake and she gulped as she stared up at the girl with burning fear as her trembling eyes and sweating forehead illustrated. She slumped to her knees and stuttered, "It...it's...it's...you..."

"The ghost of Christmas past." She said and bowed sarcastically. "Yuka Miyakawa back in the flesh."

"But why are you here? What do you want?" Hiyori squeaked as she formed herself into a human ball as Miyakawa stepped closer to her, her boots squeaking with every step.

"What? Can't an old friend just pop in unexpectedly and see how she's doing? Maybe invite her to catch a movie, go out for a nice meal, bring death and destruction to the Hiiragi family, your choice." Miyakawa hissed, making Hiyori gulp. "Didn't you ever find it odd that a girl like me would simply give up trying to make you part of my world? My dear Hiyorin...I'm very disappointed in you. I was just simply standing in the shadows watching and waiting for the day that you would prove your worth and now...that day has come. It was becoming close to the Hiiragi family that became your own undoing."

Hiyori narrowed her eyebrows and snapped, "So it _was_ you who turned Kagami into that...that...thing!"

"Guilty as charged!" Miyakawa giggled.

"And I guess the rumors are true that it was you who made Kagami strip naked in front of her twin sister just to scar them both!" Hiyori added.

"Yes...I really have come a long way, haven't I? But enough about me. Let's talk about you, Hiyorin." Miyakawa giggled. "You have come a long way, too. Not cutting yourself on your legs so no one would see the scars anymore?"

Hiyori shook her head violently. "I'm not like that anymore! I'm surrounded by people who love me and by real friends!"

"I know, I know. It's the one with the blue hair that has me interested. The one that has been walking through my district for the past three weeks teasing but not pleasing." Miyakawa replied with a grin, making Hiyori cringe.

"I...I...I don't know what you're talking about!" Hiyori tried to lie her way out of her predicament.

"Don't you fucking lie to me, Hiyorin!" Miyakawa's sudden and violent scream echoed in her room, making her jump and shiver. Miyakawa took a step back and smiled again. "Now look. You're probably wondering why I'm here and I'll tell you now. It involves you, the blue-haired one, and the Hiiragi family. You and the blue-haired girl are going to help me destroy the Hiiragi family once and for all and believe it or not...you're going to do it willingly."

Hiyori's breathing became more sporadic. "No! No I'll never do that!"

"Oh I think you will." Miyakawa sharply retorted while keeping her grin. "You see...I'm so close to corrupting all of the Hiiragi daughters. It all started with what I did to Matsuri, then I moved to Kagami, then Tsukasa, and now...there's only one daughter left. You're going to help me deprave and spoil her."

"But...but why?! This doesn't make any sense! Why do you hate Kagami so much that you'll destroy her whole family?!" Hiyori cried.

"Oh I don't hate Kagami, my dear. I will tell you what I do hate though. I hate what she is. I hate what her sisters are. I hate what her parents are." Miyakawa added. "You see, I'm a girl of simple tastes. I enjoy sunsets, the taste of human flesh...and a world engulfed in a lawless and depraved existence where debauchery reigns supreme. The Hiiragi family...with all their views and expressions of religious tolerance and peace and goodwill towards the human race...it makes me sick. It makes me gag. Every time I smell it...I get headaches and I want to puke. I want it gone forever and I'll never stop until this entire world burns. But I know I'll never be able to accomplish such a wet dream with that family in the way. They are ambassadors of good...and I simply cannot have that in my perfect world of fire, torture, and carnage."

Stunned by such horrid words and twisted desires, Hiyori gulped again as a tear slid down her cheeks and she uttered, "What are you planning on doing?"

"Kagami Hiiragi is pregnant. I could smell the thing inside her." Miyakawa replied. "My original intention was to scar her sister by making her dance and I knew Tadao Hiiragi would cast Kagami out where she would wither and starve in the streets and her baby would die just like her. However, in light of recent events courteously of those fucking rivals of mine, Kagami is safe...but I have a feeling her baby won't be for much longer. When that time comes...she'll return to the Aku District just as fucked up and willing to throw it all away as ever. That is when you and the blue-haired one will play your parts."

"What makes you think I'll help you?!" Hiyori lashed out and whipped her arm through the air to keep Miyakawa back.

Miyakawa slowly reached behind and dug into her back pocket. She withdrew a small envelope and dropped it in front of Hiyori and replied, "That. Go on, take a look."

Hiyori was reluctant at first but knew it was vital for her to comply so she slowly took the envelope and opened it. Several photographs sat inside and it only took the first one to send her into a full-blown panic attack as she threw them away.

"What the hell is that?!" She screamed.

"His name was Kozuka. He raped and robbed Kagami which means he robbed me. That is what I do to anyone who crosses me." Miyakawa snapped with anger to show how serious she was.

Hiyori didn't want to look down at the pictures again for if she did, there would be no way she would be able to keep the contents of her stomach from ejecting. The pictures included Miyakawa's process of slaughtering the human being who raped and robbed Kagami. They were vivid, graphic, and most of all, colorful. Hiyori tried to push herself further and further back into her corner as she panted in sheer panic.

"You may not be as smart as Kagami but I'm pretty sure you can figure out this simple equation. If you choose not to work for me, you and your entire family will be in similar pictures." Miyakawa said with a callous laugh. "So...can I count on you, Hiyorin?"

Hiyori tried to keep her eyes dry though it was a vain effort and she knew she was in a serious jam. She pulled herself together long enough to force out, "What do you want me to do?"

Miyakawa grinned and stepped forward, triggering more panic and trembling in Hiyori. She bent down to the frightened otaku and put her face within inches of Hiyori's. "When the time comes...I'll return for you. Until then...I'm going to let this little rendezvous of ours sink in and let you have thoughts of me until then. See you soon, Hiyorin!"

Miyakawa quickly stood again and pranced out of the house happily while also humming to herself. Hiyori saw she left the pictures of the gruesome dissection for her to keep fresh in her mind and she had a sinking feeling that she already knew what Miyakawa was going to order her to do. She feared it would have something to do with Konata and the Aku District. The fact that Yuka Miyakawa's unholy plotted destruction of the Hiiragi family was soon to come full-circle didn't even register in Hiyori's mind as she covered her face and sobbed.


	40. Chapter 40

CHAPTER 39

Kagami finished zipping the rest of her wardrobe up behind her back and she took a deep breath. She stood in the guest bedroom that was converted into Kagami's own by Mama Sanae and she slowly took a step in front of the mirror on the dresser. She slowly opened her eyes and immediately blushed at the sparkling work of art that was projected before her vision. She wore a colorful blue dress that also held a sparkling silver belt with small emeralds encrusted within the fabric. A silver holly bush leaf also sat on the left side of the bosom also with small emeralds embedded within it. A silver and emerald necklace also completed the look and Kagami felt a new sense of pride in herself as she couldn't take her eyes off the image in the mirror. She also undid her pigtails and tied her hair together and allowed the long follicles to dangle behind her back.

"So how does it fit, deary?" Mama Sanae's voice asked from the other side of the door.

Kagami uttered a bit until she clearly replied, "It...it's beautiful. You can come in."

The door opened and the jolly woman entered and when she saw Kagami dressed in the familiar ensemble, she herself became a little choked up. "I was right. You and my daughter are about the same size."

"Almost perfectly. It's a little snug at the top but that's okay." Kagami replied politely as she gazed at herself again and turned, revealing her slender back through the opening of the dress.

"Well if it's snug at the top then that's a good thing, right? That just means you're more of a woman then." Mama Sanae teased.

Kagami got the joke and blushed slightly while giggling.

"Anyway, you look beautiful, sugar." She said and gently gripped Kagami's shoulders. "I bet you used to drive the boys crazy at your old high school."

Kagami lowered her head slightly. "Not really. I wish though. Junichi is the first one who ever asked me out...and was so formal about it."

Mama Sanae chuckled. "Well that is Junichi. He believes in formalities and thinks that rudeness is one of the world's biggest epidemics."

"I was actually wondering something about him. Has he...has he ever had, well, you know...someone by his side?" Kagami asked and couldn't help but feel slightly embarrassed by asking it.

Mama Sanae sighed and shook her head. "No, deary, I'm afraid not. Poor child...always running around and putting everyone else's needs before his own. For awhile I thought the poor boy was going to end up killing himself building this neighborhood for us. You're the first girl he has ever expressed any interest in so he must really see a lot in you, child. Of course, I can see why."

The red in Kagami's face deepened slightly in color and she smiled subtly. "You and everyone else that lives here has been so good to me. And I never had someone like Junichi treat me like I was a goddess. Does that mean that he...that he...loves me?"

"It is possible, child, but the both of you will never know until you learn more about each other. Now run along and enjoy your evening." She instructed Kagami with a smile and she walked out of the house and down the street on yet another warm summer's eve.

The chirping crickets added their harmonious serenades while the fireflies complemented their presences with an infinite light show. Peace and tranquility was upon the neighborhood and it was kept there by the men who stayed in the shadows. Junichi's henchmen were heavily armed and patrolling the streets while remaining subtle about it to not scare anyone, especially any passing children with the presence of their weapons. Though Kagami also felt safe and knew she could trust them by this point, she still didn't like seeing them and felt tense every time she would see one since the post-traumatic shootout at Teasers was still fresh in her mind.

She finally arrived at Junichi's residence and saw the lights illuminating through the drawn curtains and her heart beat wildly in her chest. Kagami had no idea why she felt so nervous since she was trying to keep convincing herself that this was just a simple dinner. After so many pointless rendezvous with strangers in the backseats of cars or motel rooms, this was once again a new experience for her, though Kagami already had to admit that this uncertainty blew all those horrid prostitution experiences away.

Kagami brushed herself off one final time and mustered all the courage she could grab within herself and knocked on the door. She could feel her nerves trembling within her, especially when the footsteps on the other side of it grew louder. Her heart gave one final palpation when she heard the door locks coming undone and the doorknob turned, allowing the wooden blockade to open.

If Kagami thought she was surprised by Junichi's relationship with her father, his uncanny intellect, kind heart, book collection, and overall persona, he was once again able to give her something to gawk at. Wearing black polished shoes, black pressed pants, a white buttoned shirt covered by a black jacket, he was dressed to impress. He held his charming smile that always seem to appear only when he was either surrounded by the neighborhood children or if he was near Kagami. A mouth-watering aroma blasted Kagami and the food cooking in the kitchen smelled divine.

"Good evening, Kagami, and I must say that you look magnificent." He started with sincerity in his voice.

Kagami inadvertently gulped and immediately tried to hide it with a retorting smile and response. "Thank you...and so do you. Once again, I didn't expect you to be so formal on a first date."

"Good company calls for good quality so please come in." Junichi replied and stepped aside, allowing Kagami to walk inside his house.

Kagami quickly eyed the table and saw it too had undergone a dramatic transformation. It was draped in a white sheet and two plates were already set along with the silverware at each end of it, as well as two burning candles illuminating the space around the table. Two glasses of ice water were also present as the starting drink for them and everything seemed flawless. Light music was also playing that added more atmosphere to the setting and Kagami could barely contain her budding astonishment over what this young man was able to put together for her.

"You see...it doesn't always have to be about running drugs in the streets and violence with us. There is a side of me that I always wished to express but the audience was never quite right for it...until tonight." Junichi said and walked past Kagami and over to one of the chairs. "Dinner will be ready in a few minutes so until then I would be delighted if you graced me with conversation."

He pulled the chair out slightly and stood behind and above it while gesturing an invite to his guest. Kagami smiled softly and slowly walked over to the chair with her hands folded in front of her navel and she sat down in it. She allowed Junichi to push the chair back to the table and he took his seat adjacent to her.

"This is all so impressive, Junichi, and on our first dinner together." Kagami stated with more stupefaction in her voice. "If it's not about you and how good you are with the children or the people here, it's your academic intellect and your taste in acoustics. Next you'll tell me you're a fan of opera or something."

Junichi formed a small grin on his face and chuckled. "Carmen is my personal favorite with Habanera as my favorite aria from the performance, especially when it's sang by the Welsh singer Katherine Jenkins."

Kagami tried to keep her eyes from rolling as she lifted her glass of water and muttered, "Of course it is."

As she drank a bit of the water, Junichi cleared his throat and said, "But enough about me. I'm only interested in you, Kagami Hiiragi. I know a good amount about your father and a bit about your family, but not enough about you."

Kagami looked up and rested her glass of water back on the table. "Well, I don't know what to say, really. I graduated high school two months ago, I have...two other sisters, I used to work as a Miko at our family's shrine, and I...I used to be good in school."

"You think that you _used_ to be good at school and that you have two sisters?" Junichi asked as he tilted his head. "What about your older sister and the fact that you still are a very intelligent young woman?"

Kagami sighed. "To be honest, Junichi, I really don't like to talk about or even think about my family life anymore because when I do, I become so depressed and I start to cry. I miss Matsuri everyday and no matter how many times people tell me that her death wasn't my fault, I still obsess about it. I can't get it out of my head. And besides...if I'm so intelligent, then why did I allow myself to become so sordid and whorish after she died?"

"We all experience, comprehend, and deal with personal tragedies in our own way, Kagami. But please tell me, what was it like to be class president all throughout high school? You cannot convince me that a stupid person can become class president." He added.

Kagami's eyebrows lifted slightly. "How do you know about that?"

Junichi smirked. "Well, let's just say that your father and I met many times and he never passed up an opportunity to boast about you and how proud he was of you."

She sighed with a small smile. "I always like to hear things like that. But to answer your question, it was kind of a double-edged sword. I was flattered to know that so many people had faith in me, but to be honest, I believe I was simply riding the coattails of my oldest sister, Inori. She went to our high school too and was class president as well so the name Hiiragi was pretty ironclad within those halls. Anyway, as much as I enjoyed the involvement, it became stressful and redundant at times. It was also very tedious and it seemed like the only thing I was doing was babysitting a bunch of clubs that kept coming to me for requests for budget allocations and boring things like that. But still, I had a lot of fun times with my other friends and I felt respected and admired so there was all of that at least."

"I see...and you say you used to be good in school. I could barely understand half of what you were saying." Junichi replied with a small grin. "I understood babysitting since that's what I feel like I do most of the time but half of those words sounded rather foreign to me."

Kagami chuckled slightly. "Oh I have a hard time believing that, Junichi, considering how many books you have. I was wondering where you got them anyway."

Junichi turned back to his bookshelf and faced Kagami again. "Oh, here and there. Yard sales, old book stores, auctions, a few that your father gave me. Anytime you want to borrow one or even have one just say the word and it'll be yours."

Kagami grinned slightly and nodded. "That's very kind of you. I will admit though that I do miss those hallways and even studying for exams. It...its kind of difficult to explain, but I always felt the most confident and secure with myself whenever I was reading my notes or even completing my tests. When it was just me and the knowledge...I don't know. It just made me feel that there was eternal peace within myself. I just wish I could've kept a cool head and not gotten so stressed about college and my future to the point where I made that stupid mistake of going to that party."

"Party?" Junichi asked.

Kagami sighed. "Again, I don't really want to talk about it. Long story short though, I listened to a friend of mine and went to this party and I got drunk, which kickstarted that fight I had with Matsuri that made her leave the house where she got into that car accident. That was also the party where I first met Ryuji."

Junichi's eyes went as big as headlights. "You...you met Ryuji there? Ryuji Katsumoto? Miyakawa's cousin?"

It was Junichi's overall tone of borderline panic that made Kagami give a strange look to him. "Yes, but why do you ask?"

Junichi quickly took his glass of water to conceal his gulp of panic. He quickly sat it back down and retorted, "Nothing. Forgive me it's just that I didn't expect you to meet him in a party."

Kagami nodded. "I did. But thankfully he's gone now and he'll never be able to hurt anyone else."

"I agree." Junichi also added, though in the back of his mind he felt that he was now bearing a much larger mental weight.

He knew something about that party that Kagami still didn't and to make the matter even more serious, it had something to do with both Matsuri Hiiragi and Yuka Miyakawa. Those people were connected even before they met each other but Junichi didn't have the heart to tell Kagami. He knew that the story behind it would be so devastating for Kagami and it would be the death of their so-far pleasant evening. To keep the subject casual, Junichi asked more about Kagami.

"So please tell me what you would want to do in college if you still choose to go." He requested.

Kagami sighed again. "Well...to be honest I never really knew what I wanted to do. When I was in high school I wrote down pre-law, economics, and literature for my future goals survey but I never gave a career any thought. I was just so hell-bent on getting into a good college and when I finally did, I didn't know what to do with it and it scared me to death. I was like a dog chasing cars. When my high school graduation was nearing...I actually made my first series of mistakes with my twin sister, Tsukasa. I started confiding in her and started presenting all my problems to her and I started to make all of my burdens her burdens as well. I knew she was just as scared as I was and I know I only made things worse for her...but to be honest again...I didn't trust anyone else to talk to about these feelings. We're twins after all...and we've been through a lot together. Most of it was great...but because of me and Miyakawa...she's never going to be the same again."

Junichi cleared his throat aggressively. "Now, now, Kagami. Having a twin is a very special thing and I believe that she is dying to see you again soon."

She smiled again and nodded. "Thank you and while we're on the topic I was hoping you could answer a question I have."

"I'm all ears, Kagami."

"When I first came here, you told me I could stay as long as I wanted until I was ready to tell my family about my pregnancy but I have found it harder and harder to leave because of how well I have been treated here. You told me that I could repay everything by simply going home and getting out of this world, but my question is this. Do you personally want me to leave, Junichi?" Kagami finished and started breathing for air.

A long and ominous pause fell between the two. Junichi's face remained complacent and plain while Kagami also tried to mimic it. The young man suddenly presented feeble attempts at not trying to dodge Kagami's question, but to figure out a syntax in his mind that would be able to fully communicate how he felt and his opinion on it. He took another quick drink of water and sighed before looking into Kagami's deep and yearning eyes for the truth.

"If you want my honest answer, Kagami...then my answer is this. Yes. I do want you to leave." He said calmly.

All the budding color in Kagami's eyes faded and she slowly looked away with a depressed expression. "Oh. Oh, I see."

Junichi allowed a few more seconds to pass between them until he cleared his throat again and added, "However, I would be remiss if I didn't ask you to stay with us."

Kagami quickly looked back at him.

"Kagami...I know that you come from a renowned family and that they would only expect the best from you in all the standards you set for yourself in life and I'm pretty sure that this is not what they would want either. However, I must confess something. When you first arrived here and the only thing I knew about you was that you were once with Yuka Miyakawa, I wanted you gone for fear of you spreading the same messages and influence into this neighborhood and into the minds of those children. But when I truly got to know you and appreciate you for who you are and who I still believe you are underneath, I must admit that I would be depressed if you chose to leave us. Even with the conversations you have graced me with so far tonight, I can tell that you are a very deep and emotional person and I would love it if you would stay, as would a lot of the children that live here. However, I know that you going back to your family would probably be best for you."

Kagami slowly looked down. "Sounds like you're trying to have your cake and eat it too, Junichi."

He tilted his head in confusion.

"I remember this one appointment I had with a family therapist. She was able to see that I wanted to be with my family again...but I didn't want to give up the drugs. She said I wanted to have my cake and eat it too." Kagami replied.

Junichi folded his arms across his chest and leaned back in his chair. "A rather astute observation, Kagami. However, I still believe in honesty. I believe it would be the best for your life and your future if you would go home and make peace with everyone and everything. Yet there is something...special...about you that I want to get to know more on a spiritual and personal level. I've only known you for about a month but you continue to fascinate me and I...I..."

Kagami's eyes became swirling vortexes of uncertainty that both scared her to death and made her feel alive. She gulped to clearly ask, "You...what, Junichi?"

Yet another deep and heart-stopping pause fell between them and this one was even more perilous than the first. Kagami and Junichi were venturing down a new tunnel of uncertainty and they believed there was something within both of them that wanted to burst forth and present itself, yet they were too nervous to allow it to happen. Kagami never felt so nervous before. Even when she believed she was in love with Miyakawa, in the back of her mind she still knew it was a way to forget about her problems and not the true sentimental feeling that she sought for so many years. Little did she know that Junichi felt the same way in his own way. After so many years of simply drifting through life with nothing to give it meaning, he finally found it in building this neighborhood and he thought he felt satisfied with himself. Now that Kagami was here, he started to see how truly empty he felt inside but with her around, he started to feel full again.

Before he could answer though, the buzzer on the oven in his kitchen sounded and he slowly stood. He cleared his throat nervously again and stated, "Dinner is served."

Kagami watched him turn and enter his kitchen, leaving her alone and even though she could see him only a few feet away, she felt alone again. She slowly lowered her head and sighed lightly while shaking her head slightly. For once, Kagami finally understood why Konata always wanted to live in a world of manga, anime, and games. Everything in them seemed so much simpler and joyous and it wasn't as hard. Anime and manga made the art of expressing one's feelings to another so much easier and Kagami wished she could do that. She could recite how she wanted something to play out in her mind but when the rubber met the road, nothing ever went according to plan. Why did everything have to be so hard and complicated? She knew she was feeling something for Junichi and she could tell that he too was harboring emotions from her but despite all that they have gone through in their lives, they still couldn't vocalize them.

Still, maybe that was a good thing. Knowing that they felt so many different ensembles of pure humanity swirling within them kept their hope alive that someday they would find their true places in life. The fact that they both had empathy for the other proved that they were far above the level of Yuka Miyakawa despite the parallel street careers in the drug industry. As Kagami continued to ponder such ideas of humanity and that the fear she felt of where the possibility of her staying with Junichi's community would eventually lead her, he abruptly returned with a casserole dish of steaming food.

"That smells so good, Junichi." Kagami said softly as she felt her mouth flood.

Junichi smiled as he placed it on the table. "Thank you very much. I read more than just philosophical books so hopefully the last book I read won't screw us over. This dish is a shrimp and chicken casserole with peppers and a dash of curry sauce and white rice in it. I tried to combine both a western dish with a few Japanese perks to make it better so I hope you enjoy it."

He scooped the casserole onto Kagami's plate as well as his and the two began their meal. Kagami once again was dumbfounded by how delicious the meal was. For some reason she envisioned a night of instant ramen but this was truly a work of art and a real treat for her and it didn't stop at the casserole. The other side dishes and dessert that Junichi created by hand also had a delicious impact on the evening and Kagami was glad she went. By the time the dinner was over however, Kagami once again found her nerves being tested when the two were alone as Junichi walked her back to Mama Sanae's house.

The night was still quiet and peaceful with the crickets and fireflies still coordinating their nocturnal show. Kagami smiled at the display over an open meadow as they walked and felt that she was treated to both dinner and a show. What she dreaded though was what was supposed to happen or what she was supposed to do as soon as they arrived at her destination. Kagami had to admit that everything about tonight was perfect and she wanted to thank Junichi properly but was still scared of what she might be feeling for him and how to express it.

Trying her best to conceal her trembling as they rounded the corner and walked up the stone path to the house, Kagami stopped and turned to him. She looked up at his complacent smile and a light red formed across her face. She cleared her throat and said sternly, "Um...thank you for tonight. It was very wonderful and...I really appreciate it."

He nodded slightly. "It was my pleasure and thank you for coming."

Kagami nodded back and gulped bluntly while looking up at him. She slowly lifted her arms up and extended her hands but as she maneuvered them closer to his face, she started trembling again and her eyes darted in all directions. The blush brightened deeply and she started sweating as her lips tried to form together.

Junichi sighed with a small smirk and lifted his hands and made his notion, though it wasn't what Kagami was expecting. His two hands collected Kagami's in his and he held them together to form a cohesive connection with the intwined digits. Kagami felt her heart race as she held his hands and she looked up at him.

"I don't want you to force yourself to do anything you're uncomfortable with." He said sincerely. "Tonight...this suits me just fine."

He released Kagami's one hand and took her other and shook it gently. It was a simple and mainstream gesture but it still made her feel nervous. Regardless, she tightened her grip and shook his hand as well and with that, their first date was complete.

"Thank you again. Good night." She said and walked into the house but not before turning one more time and she smiled at him before she closed the door.

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Inori Hiiragi slowly closed Tsukasa's bedroom door and sighed to herself. It was late at night as she looked at her watch and groaned as it was nearing midnight. Still, she knew she needed to be there for Tsukasa as this new role for her was forced upon her but she still wasn't complaining. She was finally able to get Tsukasa to sleep after the youngest Hiiragi daughter woke up after another nightmare about not being able to find Kagami and that she was all alone.

The oldest daughter in the family carefully walked downstairs and looked to her right where she saw the front door and it was unlocked it. Knowing her parents were still awake and waiting for her in the kitchen, she took charge of securing the house for the night and she locked the door before she turned to the kitchen. She entered and saw them talking quietly to each other until Tadao looked up and asked, "Is she okay?"

Inori nodded. "She's going to be fine. She just needs more time to get adjusted to this. She's relied on Kagami her whole life and now her entire world needs to be reformed."

Miki nodded back. "You're doing great, dear. Your father and I are very proud of you and your dedication to Tsukasa."

Inori took a seat next to them and rubbed her eyes with a groan. "Thanks mom, but I sometimes wonder how Kagami was able to do it. I never knew how much Tsukasa needed Kagami in her life and I feel guilty as an older sister for never seeing it. Matsuri and I were best friends before she died so we just kind of left Tsukasa to Kagami."

Miki patted Inori's shoulders and followed it up with a gentle rubdown. "Kagami was a natural born leader when it came to that kind of thing. I believe that we all could've done better but at least Tsukasa still has you. She's been really opening up to you, hasn't she?"

The oldest Hiiragi daughter nodded. "Yes, she has. I can tell though that she is still afraid that that Yuka Miyakawa is still out there and is going to come for her at night or something."

The Hiiragi parents shook their heads. Tadao cleared his throat and retorted, "We just have to trust the police that they'll find her. It still blows my mind that after three weeks her trail just went cold."

"Maybe what we were telling her was the truth after all. Maybe she is really running scared like Officer Narumi said. From what we saw in the news about that SAT raid on that odious building, it is very possible that Miyakawa is ten prefectures over by now."

"Still...to think that someone like that may never be found by the cops and we might never be able to give Tsukasa any closure for what happened to her...it sickens me." Inori snapped as she rested her head on her folded arms on the table. "She still cries on a daily basis for what she did to that nurse and she still honestly and truly believes that she was responsible for it. She's talking about herself like she's a cold-blooded murderer."

Miki rubbed her eyes as well and shook her head. "I know, dear, I know. I want this nightmare to be over too but recovering from this is going to take a long time. We're still sending Tsukasa to Dr. Kishimoto twice a week as per her request and she's doing all that she can but this is bad. I will admit that. Our family...it is really being tested with all these tragedies and secrets coming out."

Inori slowly lifted her head and looked at her mother. "Speaking of secrets...Tsukasa has been asking me something that I truly don't have the answer to and I was hoping you two could finally shed some light on it."

"We'll do our best, dear." Tadao stated.

Inori took a deep breath and said, "Tsukasa has been asking me about Matsuri. She's been wondering what it was that she did that was so terrible that you two nearly disowned her."

All of a sudden, the Earth felt as if it came to a grinding halt. The expressions that formulated on Miki and Tadao's faces also added to this possibility that the final sign of the apocalypse had arrived. The two parents looked at each other dreadfully and tried to tell the other to field this question. When none of them wanted to yield to the other, Tadao turned his head and tried to evade the question by answering it with another question.

"Well...you know, right, Inori?" He asked. "Remember that night when Matsuri called you crying and begging you to pick her up?"

Inori nodded. "I do. It was the night that Kagami and Tsukasa went to spend the night at that Izumi girl's house. She called me at like two in the morning bawling her eyes out and she was still drunk so I tried to help her but you two discovered me and I had no choice but to tell you where I was going. You took it from there and the next thing I remember when you brought her home, you and mom were screaming your lungs dry at Matsuri for the rest of the night and even into the next morning before Kagami and Tsukasa came home. I had a hunch that she slept with a guy or something but I also assumed it must've been much worse than that or there was more to the story because why would you want to disown her over a mistake that seemed so petty?"

Her parents sighed together and Miki collected her husband's hand as a way to tell him that she could take it from there. "Inori...all of that is correct...especially the part when you said there was more to the story. When we found Matsuri outside a dingy motel, she confessed to us that she...made a sex tape with another girl."

Inori's eyes quickly shot open and she covered her mouth with both hands as Miki continued.

"She was out with some friends and according to her, this girl came up to them and started hanging out with them. Matsuri became inebriated during the ordeal and that girl brought her back to a motel room where they made that tape and her cousin recorded it. It was very graphic and we could only watch a few seconds of it until we had to turn it off. We never even saw the other girl's face. When Matsuri was beginning to return to her senses, the girl and her cousin tried to blackmail Matsuri by threatening to post it online...which they did anyway." Miki forced out.

Inori gulped loudly. "Wait...if that's the case...then when Kagami brought Tsukasa home that night and you called Kagami out on a sex tape she made..."

"That's why I disowned her and I wanted her out. She made the same mistakes Matsuri did and then some so I believed that cutting her away and quarantining her from us was the best option to protect you and especially Tsukasa." Miki added with her eyes filling with water.

"I...I had no idea..." Inori grunted.

Tadao nodded. "We could see how devastated Matsuri was over it and she was literally on her knees and holding onto our hands begging us not to throw her out. It was because of that sincerity that persuaded us to let her stay. But when Kagami did it and even involved Tsukasa in that stripping incident, we couldn't take it anymore and your mother only had your best interests at heart."

Inori nodded. "I understand your intentions...but aren't you still worried about Kagami? Aren't you afraid that she's hurt out there or worse? Was it so easy to just turn off all the love you have for her like it was a light switch?"

Miki frowned. "Don't downplay this with me, Inori. Of course I still love Kagami and every time I wake up now I'm afraid that this will be the day that the police will tell me that she's dead. But Kagami made her own choices. She blamed herself for Matsuri's death and despite all the help we offered, she chose the drugs. A parent can only do so much until their child wakes up and realizes that they need to help themselves."

The oldest Hiiragi daughter shielded her face with her hands and groaned. "I know all of that, mom, but Kagami is still my sister. I love her and I need her here too."

Tadao reached out and took Inori's hands. "Maybe one day Kagami will see the error of her ways and come home...but until then, we need to focus all of our love and attention on Tsukasa. She's been though arguably a lot worse than Kagami because of Miyakawa. At least Kagami doesn't have a dead person on her conscience."

Inori nodded. "I know, dad. Look, it's getting late and I'm tired. I'm going to bed so I'll see you in the morning."

Everyone agreed it was late and as everyone decided to go to bed, Inori yawned and walked back towards the stairs. As she approached the stairs though, something unusal caught her eyes. She saw the lock on the doorknob was turned in the wrong direction, telling her the door was unlocked.

She tilted her head and quietly stated, "That's strange. I could've sworn that I locked that door. I must be more tired than I thought."

Inori repeated the task and locked the door again and as she completed it again, she suddenly heard something above her head. It sounded like a thud and it was coming from Tsukasa's bedroom. Inori squinted at the ceiling and started to feel paranoid. First the door was unlocked again and now a strange sound was coming from Tsukasa's room. The oldest Hiiragi daughter made her way up the stairs and approached Tsukasa's room.

She gently opened it and pushed it open. She could see her little sister curled in her bed and sleeping soundly as the moonlight's embrace cradled Tsukasa's figure in the silver gleam. Inori slowly entered the bedroom to investigate further and she looked around the bedroom, only to find that she was the only awake being in the room. She scratched her head and concluded that her fatigue was the cause of all these so-called phenomena.

Seeing Tsukasa sleeping so soundly and peacefully brought a smile to Inori's face and she couldn't help but tiptoe over to her. She looked at Tsukasa's slumbering face and Inori bent down and kissed her gently on her forehead.

"Sleep tight, baby sis." She said and quietly exited the room as she slowly and softly closed the door behind her, encasing Tsukasa in darkness again.

The silence of the night accompanied by the solitude of Tsukasa's lonely room made for both a peaceful and ominous sign. As Tsukasa slept soundly and ten minutes after Inori left the room, Tsukasa's bedroom closet doorknob slowly turned. The wooden structure slowly creaked open and created a makeshift portal into a realm of infinite darkness where the truest of darkest and aggravated creatures dwelled. A heavy breathing followed until the door opened the whole way and a figure stepped out of the closet and into Tsukasa's room. It walked closer and closer towards the bed and once it stepped into the silver light of the moon, Yuka Miyakawa's identity was revealed.

She lowered her entire body to Tsukasa's level and put her smiling and glaring face only inches away from Tsukasa's sleeping expression. If Tsukasa were to open her eyes now, she would stare straight into the leer of death itself. Miyakawa inched her face closer until the tip of her nose touched Tsukasa's and she sniffed deeply. Breathing in all of Tsukasa's natural aroma that her lungs could take, Miyakawa exhaled and pulled her head away.

"I still smell purity in you." She whispered and reached behind her back and retracted her serpent dagger. Miyakawa put the tip of the blade on Tsukasa's soft flesh and began to gently drag it across her cheek, making her giggle from the ticklish touch in her sleep. "To think how easy it would be to take your life away right now. You'll never be able to understand that feeling that turns me on. Knowing that you have full control over a human's life and you are the judge, jury, and executioner. It's spectacular."

Miyakawa took the dagger away and sheathed it again and lowered her face to Tsukasa's again and deepened her grin.

"But killing you in your sleep would be too easy and unsatisfying. I want to see the look in your eyes when I come back for you." She hissed again, lowered her face to Tsukasa's lips, and kissed her. When she completed her kiss, Miyakawa pulled back and reached into her back pants pocket. She displayed a DVD disc enclosed in a case in her hand and she gently placed it next to Tsukasa's nightstand with a small note attached to it. "But for now...this birthday present will suffice. I think that after you watch this, you will see your pathetic sister in a whole new light. Sweet dreams...and happy birthday, Tsukasa. Now...I must pay your oldest sister a visit. See you very, very soon."

Miyakawa waited until all the activity in the Hiiragi household went silent and when everyone was asleep, she exited Tsukasa's room and navigated towards Inori's room to keep her reign of terror alive and well in the hearts and minds of the Hiiragi household.

**A/N: I've been getting a lot of thank you's from readers lately for updating so frequently and you're all welcome but the biggest thanks should go to you, the readers. It's your reviews, hits, and interest in the story that keeps it alive so if you should thank anyone, thank yourselves for sticking with it!**


	41. Chapter 41

CHAPTER 40

The moon's silver glow in the night sky gradually faded as the hours progressed and the rebirthing orange of the rising sun began to replace it the next morning. Since Kagami left, people began to notice measurable differences in Tsukasa's routines, including her sleeping routine. She would start to wake up earlier, which was unusual for her considering she had been known to sleep past noon at times. This morning was no exception to her new habits as she slowly stirred from her slumber. She lifted her eyelids to see her drawn blinds glowing from the brightening sun outside and she stretched her arms high to wake the rest of her body up.

As she rubbed her eyes and yawned, she shifted herself to one side of her bed and noticed something foreign resting on her nightstand. A DVD disc was sitting in a clear plastic case with a small sticky note attached to it. Perked by sudden curiosity, Tsukasa picked the disc up and held the note to her heavy eyes and when her vision cleared, she read it aloud.

"To my baby sister. Please accept this memoir of my most precious memories with Matsuri. Don't worry. You and I will have a relationship this special soon enough. From your loving big sister. P.S. Happy Birthday." Tsukasa recited and already felt emotionally constricted as she hugged the disc with a smile. With all that had been going on in the Hiiragi household over the past few weeks, Tsukasa completely forgot that it was her's and Kagami's birthday today. "Inori...I love you so much. Thank you."

Tsukasa believed that she was holding a DVD of home movie compilations between Inori and Matsuri and that her oldest sister was trying to reassure her that everything was going to be okay. Kagami may have been gone, but Inori still wanted to be there for her and give her all the love and attention she deserved. Wasting no time, Tsukasa catapulted out of bed and tiptoed downstairs to the family room where the television was. Careful not to wake anybody, she crawled down the stairs quietly and bypassed the front door, not noticing that it was unlocked yet again.

Opening the plastic case, Tsukasa took the disc out and powered the DVD player and inserted it into the tray. Tsukasa waited anxiously as she sat on her knees and stared at the television with a wide smile and lively eyes thirsty for more family sentiments between her oldest siblings. The screen remained fuzzy for a moment until the picture became clear and Tsukasa's once happy and optimistic eyes were set on fire.

It all happened so fast that the youngest Hiiragi daughter had no chance to block what was about to be seared into her mind. An avalanche of screams, moans of ecstasy, laughter, and pulsating music ambushed Tsukasa's hearing and her vision was violated by Matsuri Hiiragi's naked and sweating body on the screen. Matsuri was being straddled by another girl and the look on the middle Hiiragi's face was animalistic. She screamed and begged for more at the top of her lungs as the other girl worked on top of her. Tsukasa froze and trembled as her face melted into an expression of pure terror. It was what happened next that made Tsukasa go numb and realize the danger she was truly in.

The girl working on the screaming and squealing Matsuri turned her head and once again, Tsukasa looked deep into the pixilated eyes of Yuka Miyakawa on the screen. The depraved psychopath that held her hostage in the basement of the putrid setup of human misery once again proved herself to be the culprit in another Hiiragi child's undoing. The graphic tape went on as the two girls made out and defiled each other deeply and Tsukasa grabbed the remote and turned it off but as the screen went black, a thought occurred in Tsukasa's mind. Who put that DVD on her nightstand? When she asked herself this question through the seas of disgust that was flooding her mind, the answer presented itself.

Tsukasa jumped to her feet and screamed. She screamed so loudly that the walls vibrated as she turned and ran for the kitchen with the intent of grabbing something to defend herself with. The blast of intrusive noise turned the home into a battlefield already as Miki and Tadao erupted out of their room and stormed downstairs to find the crying and screaming Tsukasa sitting in the corner of the kitchen with a large butcher knife in her clutches, adding more fuel to the panic fire.

"Tsukasa what's wrong?! What's happening?! Drop the knife right now!" Miki commanded.

"She's here! She's in the house! She's in the house! She's in the house!" Tsukasa screamed so loudly that her voice gave out towards the end as her eyes leaked and she held the knife out as both a spear and as a shield. "Don't let her take me away! Don't let her tattoo me again! Don't let her touch me! Keep her away from me!"

"Who?! Who is in the house, Tsukasa?!" Tadao yelled, trying to calm his bellicose daughter down.

"Yuka Miyakawa! She's here! She's in the house! Don't let her touch me!" She screamed again and started swinging the blade in the air.

"Tsukasa, calm down! Miyakawa is not here!" Miki added with burning fear.

As they tried to talk Tsukasa off her cliff, Inori tore out of her room and plowed down the stairs and into the kitchen while crying, "What's going on?!"

"Your sister thinks that-" Tadao began but stopped dead in his sentence when he turned and saw Inori. When he did, he took a cue from Tsukasa and started screaming.

Miki also spun around and when she saw her oldest daughter, she too vocalized her fright in a similar fashion and latched onto her husband. Inori stopped in her tracks and started panicking herself in the midst of the confusion. She had no idea why her parents and littlest sister were screaming at the sight of her but if she could see the reason, she too would lose it. Inori's face was painted completely white with red swirling circles on each cheek, and heavy black eye shadow. It was the exact same pattern Miyakawa painted on Tsukasa's face the night she forced Kagami to strip in front of her.

"You see?! You see?! She's here! Oh god she's here! She's gonna kill us all! Let me out of here!" Tsukasa screamed again and started to climb onto the counter next to the sink in a desperate attempt to crawl out the small window above it.

"Inori, are you hurt?! Are you in any pain?!" Tadao cried.

"You're freaking me out what the hell is going on?!" Inori cried back, still unsure what was happening but fretted that it had to do with her.

"Your face! What happened to your face?!" Miki exclaimed hysterically as she also tried to wrestle the hysterical and knife-wielding Tsukasa away from the window.

Inori wasted no time in sprinting to the nearest bathroom in the hallway and rushed in. When the lights flickered on, she became the latest family member to add her screams of discontent when she looked in the mirror. She tried to wipe the materials off her face but she was able to register it as paint when it wouldn't come off, just like in Tsukasa's case. In the midst of her panic, on of her pajama buttons came undone at the bottom of her top and something new and just as horrifying caught her eyes. More red marks were stained on her body and when the idea of it being blood came into her mind, she ripped the top off with no regard to decency as panic now controlled her. When she saw what it was, she only screamed in anguish again.

Her white bra keeping her decent, Inori rushed into the kitchen again with a terrified look and her torso was also painted. However, it didn't consist of strange swirls or geometric shapes this time. The word "HELLO" was painted numerous times all over her body as she faced her parents, who were only drowned in even more panic when they saw the words sealed on Inori's flesh.

"What is all of this?! What is this?!" Inori cried as her eyes flooded.

"Everybody just calm the fuck down!" Miki exploded in a shocking display of both horror and anger, which immediately silenced all parties involved though Tsukasa still shook like a maraca. "Now look...it is obvious that something has happened here today and we will call the police right now."

"Um...dear...what's that?" Tadao stuttered.

Everyone turned their attention to him and saw him looking at the dinner table and something was sitting on it. In the midst of their panic, they all didn't notice a single black rose sitting in a small silver vase with a tag wrapped around it. Miki gulped and slowly approached the black flower and saw the tag had a small message on it. She read it quickly and quietly and upon completing it, she quickly backed away and all the color drained from her face.

She slowly turned back to her frightened family and stuttered, "I...I...I think...Tsukasa...is right. We need to get out of here."

Tsukasa once again started panicking and the family quickly made their way for the rear sliding glass door that would lead them to the backyard. Tadao drew the curtain, only to usher in yet another wave of terror. Red paint also covered the large glass panel of their door and it too was a consistent pattern of one word. The word "HA" was written with red paint over and over again to the point where it nearly covered the glass completely. Tsukasa screamed again upon seeing it and dove into her father's embrace as Inori also nestled up against him.

Miki was able to disregard the taunts and ripped the door open and led her family out of the house as she got on the phone to report the break-in. She never would've believed it was possible, but it seemed that her family was in true danger at the hands of Yuka Miyakawa. Knowing that such a vile creature was in her home last night and hovering over her daughters like a hawk circling its prey sent both a chill and a wave of pure anger throughout Miki. Though she wasn't a detective or a crime scene specialist, Miki didn't need such training to know that this act was designed just to taunt her family. Yuka Miyakawa was sending a message to them. She wanted them to know that she had access to them whenever she pleased and that she wasn't afraid of taking everything to the extreme. Miki could still see the message on the tag wrapped around the black rose in her mind, which only furthered her dismay.

"For the late Matsuri Hiiragi. She was one of the best fucks I ever had...aside from Kagami of course. We'll have to see if the oldest and the youngest ones will be able to satisfy me when their time comes. With love, Yuka."

Tsukasa was still a trembling and crying mess even when the police arrived and swept the entire house with their weapons drawn. There was no sign of Miyakawa anywhere aside from the clues she left behind, which were confiscated by the police in the hopes that they would be able to give them more leads. Even with their house searched from top to bottom and no sign of any danger Tsukasa still wouldn't budge from the backyard. She wanted to stay in the open and away from any enclosed spaces as simply knowing that Miyakawa knew where they lived and was venturing through their house while they slept was enough to keep Tsukasa fully paranoid. She was barely able to surrender the kitchen knife but was finally coaxed into releasing it by her newfound hero, Inori.

The youngest Hiiragi daughter was also able to inform her family and the police about what started the whole crisis, which was still sitting in the family's DVD player. It only further proved to the Hiiragi family that Yuka Miyakawa was after them and wanted them to know that they were never safe, not even in their own home. They were flooded with rage and fear knowing that it was not only Miyakawa who seduced and defiled Matsuri and haunted her with the video, but also that it was her who did the same to Kagami and tortured Tsukasa in the process. Needless to say that they were delighted when the police also had to take the DVD as evidence as well.

Inori remembered her conversation with her parents the previous night regarding how she wondered how Kagami handled Tsukasa so well in the past, especially when she was scared. She remembered that exchange the most because of how hard it was to get Tsukasa to come back into the house. She wouldn't move from under a large tree that was on the Hiiragi property years before she and Kagami were born and was hell-bent on staying there.

Miki and Tadao sat with Tsukasa to keep talking to her and try to persuade her into coming back inside while Inori cleaned the paint off herself. Despite their best efforts, they were unable to get the retracted and sniffling Tsukasa to come back inside and every time they tried to touch her to soothe her, she would pull tighter and tremble. Miki fought back her own tears over watching her youngest jewel in such a broken and disheartening state that she could do nothing about.

Inori opened the sliding glass door again and her face was now cleared of the paint as well as the rest of her torso and she returned to her crying sister. Miki and Tadao parted away from her as Inori sat down in the grass next to Tsukasa and said, "Hey, Tsukasa. That was quite a morning we had, wasn't it?"

Tsukasa looked up from resting her head on her folded arms and showed her teary eyes. "Ma...Matsuri...she...she was..."

"I know, I know. May I hug you, Tsukasa?" Inori asked softly and opened her arms.

Tsukasa quickly scuttled over to her and crawled into her lap and curled into a ball as Inori hugged her tightly. Inori rocked Tsukasa gently while the latter continued to cry and tremble in fear while the former also patted Tsukasa's back. Leaving Tsukasa in her care, Miki and Tadao left the two sisters alone to start cleaning their glass door of the taunting words.

"I know...Miyakawa deceived and hurt Matsuri very badly, too. She and Kagami are the same." Inori whispered. "I know that she did horrible things to you, too...but I promise you, Tsukasa, as long as I'm here...I will _never_ let anyone hurt you. We will learn from our mistakes and we'll never let her back in our home."

Tsukasa continued her shaking as she looked up. "But...but I'm still scared, Inori. She...she was in my room last night...while I slept. She...she could've...hurt me...or worse."

Inori turned her head away to hide her gulp since she knew Tsukasa was right. The oldest Hiiragi daughter could know see how serious this antagonist was if she was brazen enough to pick the lock of their front door and sneak into Tsukasa's room while Inori was talking to her parents in just the next room over last night. Miyakawa was in her room as well and went to great lengths to crawl inside her head and Inori knew she was scared to death as well and was practically lying to Tsukasa by putting on such a bold face. Still, Inori knew she had a job to do as an older sister and came up with a solution.

"I'll tell you what, Tsukasa. How about you sleep in my bed with me for awhile. It'll be just us sisters together and I'll watch over you." Inori said with a convincing though still hollow smile. "If someone like Miyakawa tries this crap again...she'll have to go through me first and I promise you I'll skin them all alive."

The initial threat made Tsukasa cringe but she could see the love and determination in Inori's eyes when speaking of protecting her. It was this sentiment which Tsukasa endlessly craved that formulated a smile on her face and she was able to dry her tears. She quickly hugged Inori around her neck and held her tight, triggering a mirrored response from Inori. Inori slowly pulled away from the hug and stood, which was met with a reluctant and paranoid response from her sister at first.

"Come on, Tsukasa. Let's go help mom and dad clean the house and then I'll take you shopping and then we can grab some lunch. Maybe we'll even catch a movie together and it'll all be my treat. How does all of that sound?" Inori asked with a smile and held out her hand.

Hearing all the tempting and gracious offers flattered Tsukasa deeply and she couldn't help but smile and create her infamous giggle. She closed her eyes and took her sister's hand. Inori pulled Tsukasa to her feet and the two walked back to their house with their hands connected and smiles on their faces. Though Tsukasa still feared the unknown and that Yuka Miyakawa was still on the loose, she trusted her sister and her parents to protect her. Tsukasa didn't know it yet, but she was slowly undergoing her own transformation. With each tragic occurrence in her life, her inner pillar grew stronger and sooner or later, she would one day have to take the reins and steer her family out of the storm they were in.

She would need all the strength she could garner because by this point she had only one thing left in common with Kagami. Both Kagami and Tsukasa were only in the eye of the storms that were their trials and Yuka Miyakawa was controlling every movement in the maelstrom that consumed them.

(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(- )-(-)

As quickly and unexpectedly as she made her appearance, Yuka Miyakawa's trail went cold again and she still eluded capture. The police still suspected that this was no random taunt and that Miyakawa had a serious plot unfolding in her devilish mind, which only made them want to capture or kill her even more though she constantly proved to be a slippery fish. One week after the surprise visit to the Hiiragi household, Konata finally called it quits in her extremely dedicated attempts to finding Kagami. What started to confuse Konata was the fact that Hiyori Tamura also started to become more distant from her. She stopped answering her texts and emails, making Konata both angry and sad at the same time.

The last conversation she had with Hiyori about the rest of their friends about not wanting to get sucked into the drama was weighing heavily on her mind and she began to think she was all alone in this fight. As much as Konata hated to admit it, she started to think that the rest of her friends believed that they were better off without Kagami stirring trouble. The blue-haired girl however didn't want to give up but at the same time had no idea what to do next.

Running as fast as she could down the street towards her house, Konata panted deeply as the sun was rising after her last night in the Aku District. She had missed her first train that would take her home and now feared that either her father or cousin would wake up soon and discover she wasn't in her room about to go to sleep after another night of games. She always left her television or computer on low volume to give the impression she was still there but Konata knew of Yutaka's kind heart. Yutaka would be on of the first ones to check on Konata and offer to bring her breakfast so Konata had to hurry.

Konata finally arrived at her house and was able to successfully sneak into the home and still wearing her scandelous and seductive wardrobe, she tiptoed towards her door and as she neared it, her heart bounced when she heard another doorknob turn. Konata looked up and saw Yutaka's doorknob spin and the door slowly opened. Konata took the cue and threw subtly out the window and rocketed into her room and closed the door. She didn't even bother stripping down and dove into her bed and covered herself her blankets.

A light knock sounded from her door, followed by Yutaka's fatigued voice that said, "Onee-chan, are you awake?"

Konata pulled the covers tighter to keep the wardrobe hidden and softly replied, "Yes, Yu-chan. I'm awake and I'll be down in a minute."

"Okay..." Yutaka yawned and walked down the hallway towards the kitchen.

Konata breathed deeply. That was way too close and in Konata's mind, it was a sign that it had to be the last time she went out in search of Kagami. She had been going out to that grotesque sector for far too long and to be met with nothing but the worst of humanity. She was just grateful that nothing physically ever happened to her and that she never even had to use her pepper spray but she wished there was a way to fix this. Konata slowly sat up and kept herself wrapped in her covers while contemplating her next move. She wanted her best friend back, but couldn't find her and was now putting herself at great risks in patterned futile efforts that resulted in failure. For now, all Konata could do was sigh with depression.

As Yutaka fixed her breakfast, she heard her cousin walk downstairs and round the corner dressed in her regular pajamas. She looked exhausted and fatigued but Yutaka assumed it was because she was sleepy and was still in the dark about her cousin's dangerous pursuits. Konata took a seat while rubbing her eyes and she yawned while stretching to keep up the act.

"Good morning, onee-chan. I was about to fix some breakfast so would you like me to fix you something?" Yutaka asked with a smile.

Konata slowly shook her head. "No I'm okay."

Yutaka finished making her own breakfast and as she started eating, she looked up and stared at her cousin, who was resting her head on her open hand and was staring into space. She also had an expression on her face that illustrated a bit of depression and uncertainty that concerned the salmon-haired girl. Ever since Kagami's decline, Konata was a borderline basket case and completely kicked everything else in her life to the curb.

Whether it was planning the intervention or talking to Tsukasa on a daily basis, Konata took all her old hobbies and packed them away. She focused everything on the Hiiragi family and was starting to run herself dry. This latest stint of dressing like a prostitute and scouring the entire Aku District only further proved how far gone Konata was becoming. Needless to say that Yutaka was always worried about her cousin and sought counseling from Minami, who in turn sought the same from Miyuki before she was attacked by Kagami.

"Onee-chan...I can tell something is bothering you. If you want to talk about it you know I'm always here to listen." Yutaka said innocently while she stared back at her depressed cousin.

Konata sighed and started scratching her head. "I'm just tired, Yu-chan. I'm really tired of not being able to help Kagami and just sit on the sidelines and watch while Kagami's entire family sinks. You know I was talking to Hiyorin the other week and she and I aren't at the same level of dedication to helping them anymore. She says that she along with everyone else wants to stay out of the drama. Can you believe that?"

Yutaka presented a tepid expression upon hearing of what was irking her cousin. Now was a moment of truth and a redefining moment for the two cousins. Yutaka had been hiding her feelings since the intervention because she could see how much the Hiiragi family, especially Kagami meant to Konata. Now that this issue had finally surfaced, Yutaka knew she had to step up and bury it once and for all.

"To be perfectly honest, Onee-chan, I agree with Tamura-san." Yutaka said softly but still confidently in her words.

Konata simply stared and remained quiet as her first retort.

Yutaka cleared her throat and added, "We all know how much Kagami means to you, but we all saw at the intervention how she wants to live her life. We tried. That's all we could do and it didn't work out. As sad as it is, I believe the best thing we can do is move on."

"Am I the only sane person left?!" Konata finally snapped and pounded her fist on the table, slightly starling Yutaka. "Why is everyone throwing in the towel?! It seems to me that everyone is so easily able to forget about Kagami and treat her like she was always this way! Why, Yutaka?! What's your excuse for not wanting to do all that you can for her?!"

The salmon-haired girl sighed and folded her hands on the table. As much as she hated confrontations and aggression in general, this was her cousin and she cared for her deeply. This issue with Kagami had been tearing Konata apart ever since it happened and Yutaka feared that if it wasn't contained and Konata wasn't challenged on it, she would drive herself mad over it. Yutaka wasn't about to let that happen to the girl who welcomed her into her home and viewed her as another sibling.

"Konata Izumi..." Yutaka began sternly. "I have no 'excuse,' as you put it for not wanting to help. My 'reasoning' for wanting to stay out of the way and away from the drama is simple. Obsession over such things that are out of your control are unhealthy and you have no idea how damaging it can be for you. When I was younger and I learned that I would never be as good as you are in sports and that I would always get sick, I was obsessed with not being that way. I wanted to be normal. I wanted to be healthy and to be able to run around without feeling that my lungs were melting inside me. Instead of accepting it and finding a way to adjust to this lifestyle in the beginning, I begged my parents, the doctors, and my big sister to cure me. After some time passed and reality began to sink in, I was incredibly depressed...until I came up with a simple logic that justified everything in my life."

Konata narrowed her eyebrows at Yutaka. "What was it?"

"I told myself one day that everyone wants what they cannot have...but if you start to love and cherish what you've already got, then you'll never need anything else." She replied. "I have my sister, you, a great group of friends, great experiences in school, and my happiness despite the fact that I'll never be an Olympic runner.

The blue-haired girl's eyeballs darted in her head, trying to find her own logic to counter Yutaka's but so far it was a losing battle. Instead, she asked, "You think I'm obsessing about Kagami?"

"Aren't you?"

"I'm not obsessing. I'm just scared that I'm going to lose Kagami as a friend forever so I'm dedicating my entire life to make sure that that doesn't happen." Konata replied sharply.

"It sounds to me like you're splitting hairs, onee-chan." Yutaka replied. "We all know how much Kagami means to you but I must ask why. What is it about this girl that you're willing to sacrifice everything that is unique about you to save her?"

Konata gulped. "I...I...uh...she...she's my friend. I would...I would do the same thing for you if you were in Kagami's position."

"Really? You would? You would dress in a horrid prostitution outfit and comb the Aku District for me?" Yutaka folded her hands under her chin as she asked it.

Konata's heart bounced into her throat as she trembled and began to sweat while giving her cousin a frightened expression. "You...you knew...? The whole time...?"

Yutaka nodded. "Tamura-san is also concerned about you and texted me what you did and that she felt guilty for helping you."

"And you didn't say anything?"

"To be honest when I read what you were doing, I was about to call my sister and tell her to find you but a thought occurred to me before I did." Yutaka added and cleared her throat again. "No matter what we did, you would continue to pursue Kagami to the ends of the Earth and back. We knew that she was damaged beyond repair the last time we saw her at that intervention and that latest incident where she was forced to strip for her sister only further proved that, not to mention what she did to Miyuki. Still, you were able to overlook all of that and pursue Kagami, much like Tsukasa was in the beginning, even when she lied to her family to keep Kagami a hidden secret when she came home and prostituted herself in her bedroom. As much as I wanted to put an end to that kind of blind love that you were showing her, I knew I would only be doing more harm than good. I believed that you needed to learn that life isn't a video game. No matter how much you pursue or try to control something, it won't always work out and you won't always make it to the next level. I'm sorry, onee-chan, but you cannot win this dangerous game you're playing."

Konata's eyes flooded and they instantly became two rivers down her face as her lips quivered and she finally let it all out. She started crying bluntly and loudly as reality finally came home. Despite all her best efforts, time, sweat, and tears, Konata Izumi couldn't save Kagami Hiiragi. She truly and honestly believed that Kagami was dead after a month of combing the entire sector more than once and coming up empty every night. Konata covered her face as Yutaka slowly stood and hugged her cousin.

"...Yu-chan...I'm so sorry...!" Konata wailed.

Yutaka stroked her cousin's head and back while nodding slowly. "I know, Konata. I know. You really cared about Kagami, didn't you? You _really_ cared for her, right?"

Konata stopped crying long enough to wipe her eyes and look at Yutaka. "I'm in love with her, Yu-chan! Every time I teased her, I always meant it but I tried to disguise it as being playful! I love her so much and now she's gone!"

Yutaka pulled her cousin tighter and nodded. "I know, onee-chan. I've always known."


	42. Chapter 42

CHAPTER 41

Kagami slowly opened her eyes and sat up in her cushiony bed in Mama Sanae's house. She rubbed her sleepy eyes and a lavishing bouquet of colorful flowers standing in a glass vase sitting on a dresser caught her attention, prompting her to smile. The flowers were of many different types and colors and had been sitting there for a week and Kagami pulled herself out of the bed. To start her day off right again, she walked over to the flowers and picked up the card sitting next to them and read it.

"I don't know anything about flowers, especially since I know not one single type could represent your inner colors. Instead, please accept all of these flowers of every color imaginable, which is how evocative I picture your inner being. Happy Birthday. From Junichi."

The twin-tailed Hiiragi smiled again and rested the card back on the dresser next to the vase and took a step back. She felt a wave of happiness consume her being, which also manifested as a physical sensation and she felt her uterus warm up. Kagami placed her hand on her womb and rubbed it gently to add more loving warmth to the being growing inside her.

"He really is a great guy, isn't he?" She asked both herself and her baby. "We've been here a little over a month now and I have to admit it. I have deep feelings for him. He's really given me a lot back. Hell...he's practically given my whole life back. He's kept us both safe, showed us how to really treat a lady, and was always a shoulder to lean on. I think I want to stay with him. What do you think, baby?"

The baby was still developing and many weeks away from being able to start kicking but that didn't mean Kagami couldn't feel anything. When she asked the last question, she felt her womb become even warmer, making her giggle. She continued to stroke it and talk to her child.

"I need to ask him something very important." Kagami stated aloud and started her morning routine again.

She got her shower, got dressed, had her breakfast, and when she expected herself several times over in the mirror, she stepped out of Mama Sanae's house and into yet another warm and beautiful summer day. The sky was a solid blue as far as the eye could see without a single cloud anywhere and the children were already busy playing. Some of the boys rounded up a bunch of others and started playing baseball in the meadow where Junichi would read to the younger ones and a familiar face caught Kagami's attention.

She saw the familiar face in Mina Kawabe, the girl who so closely resembled a smaller version of Matsuri Hiiragi and who met Kagami when she first sat down with Junichi. She was also the first one to ask if Kagami and Junichi were a couple, which triggered uncomfortable reactions for the both of them. Now Kagami hoped she would ask the same question again as she stepped down the path towards the street because she had a different answer in her mind now.

The little girl was just as happy and eccentric as ever as she ran around the street with a pillow case tied around her neck and the rest flapping behind her back like a cape. She also held her arms out as if she was flying and her smile warmed Kagami's heart. Now the twin-tailed girl could see herself counting down the days until she would give birth and be able to enjoy mindless yet fulfilling games like these with her own child.

"Good morning, Mina-chan." Kagami greeted with a smile.

The little girl stopped running and when she saw Kagami approach her, she once again brightened up and dashed over to her while calling, "Kagami-onee-san!"

Kagami bent down to her knees as the child stopped in front of her and the twin-tailed girl giggled. "What are we playing today, Mina-chan?"

The child formed two fists and put them on her hips while puffing out her chest and exclaimed, "I am Mighty Mina, here to save the world, protect the innocent, and vanquish evil!"

Kagami tried to hold in her deep laughter over how cute and funny she found Mina's game to be, especially because of how serious she was taking it. She couldn't help but play along. "Oh thank the heavens you're here, Mighty Mina, because I need protection from these no good guys harassing me!"

"Have no fear my fair lady, Mighty Mina will protect you!" She exclaimed, took Kagami's hand, and began pulling her. "This way, Kagami-onee-san!"

Kagami was forced to release a few more chuckles as she let Mina guide her down the street and past other children playing and a few adults passing by. Mina eventually led Kagami to the small meadow where the boys were playing baseball and they ducked behind a crowd of other people watching the game.

"We should be safe here amongst the commoners..." Mina whispered.

Kagami held her fingers to her lips and laughed slightly again and hugged the tiny superhero tightly. "Thank you so much, Mighty Mina! You're my hero!"

Mina laughed happily in Kagami's grip and the twin-tailed Hiiragi continued to have fun with the child. The walked around the neighborhood together hand-in-hand for nearly an hour and Kagami was grateful for all the firsthand experiences she was gaining with a child. She saw it as good practice for her own self when her child would arrive, though she still couldn't see how much of a natural she was at it already.

As the two walked, Mina finally tugged on Kagami's hand and asked, "Are you and Junichi-kun in love, Kagami-onee-san?"

Kagami's heart sped up, her face burned red, and she gulped all simultaneously upon hearing the child ask such a deep question that was still filled with innocence. She had been mentally preparing herself for the question, but when it actually came to fruition, Kagami felt exposed again. Kagami's first reaction was to answer the question with another question by asking, "What...what makes you...ask that, Mina-chan?"

"Well, Junichi-kun is always talking about you, he brings you flowers, and I see how he always stares at you when you're near him." Mina stated as she scratched her head.

"Oh...oh I see." Kagami replied, still blushing. "Well Mina-chan, I will admit that Junichi is a very nice guy, but as far as us being in love...I'm afraid I don't know how to answer that."

"Why not? I thought it would be simple to answer." She quickly retorted.

This was becoming more awkward and uncomfortable for Kagami. Mina was still a little girl and would be unable to grasp the full concept of adult issues and believed that everything in life had a black and white answer. The issue of two people falling in love came with so many different angles that only real life experiences would be able to teach Mina about them, which was obviously something Kagami didn't want for the child just yet. Still, Kagami needed to answer her on this confusing topic, though she herself was also very confused about how she truly felt.

"Well Mina-chan, I'm afraid that love is a very complicated issue and it is very difficult to explain, even when you're an adult." Kagami tried to vocalize her explanation to the best of her ability. "You know that people unfortunately don't have the ability to read each other's thoughts, right?"

Mina nodded.

"Well, it's because of that that we are all basically alone in our own minds and unable to feel what another person is feeling. In the adult world, sometimes people say they're feeling one thing when they're really not or feeling something entirely different. When love happens though, it is said that we are truly able to open our hearts and minds to each other...and that thought alone can be very scary." Kagami added.

Mina gave a confused expression. "Are you scared about being in love with Junichi-kun?"

Kagami gulped but thankfully Mina was still too young to comprehend body language. The twin-tailed girl nervously replied, "Well...I guess a case could be made for that, yes. It's very hard to explain. It's one of those things that you'll just have to experience for yourself one day. Do you understand?"

Kagami wanted to groan when she watched Mina shake her head no and add, "No, not really. It all seems so simple to me. I feel love everyday from either Junichi-kun, my parents who adopted me, or the kids I play with all the time. Love is everywhere and it is beautiful. I don't see how any of it could be scary."

"It...it is a different kind of love, Mina-chan." Kagami sighed. "I wish it was that simple but don't worry, you'll understand when you're older. But still, I wish that I could answer your question about Junichi and I honestly because like I said...the truth may be scary to me."

Mina looked around. "Look, my favorite spot!"

Kagami looked to where Mina was pointing and saw another grassy meadow with a small hill and a tree standing atop it. The young girl happily pulled Kagami's hand into the green meadow and up the small hill and the twin-tailed girl was awestruck by the view. A large field of tall grass stretched as far as the eye could see with the mountains decorating the landscape in the distance. The perfect blue sky complementing the lushes greens that covered the land gave way to the infinite kaleidoscope of life that was presented for her and Mina quickly sat under the shade of the tree, which Kagami followed.

"So this is your favorite spot? It's beautiful." Kagami said and her heart bounced again when Mina snuggled closer to her by sitting in Kagami's lap. She opened her legs so the girl could sit in the grass and Mina leaned back and rested her head on Kagami's stomach.

"It is. I love this spot. To me, everything is perfect here and that is why I was wondering why love is so scary to you, Kagami-onee-san. Whenever I get scared or sad, I always come here and I feel love. Love is perfect, just like this spot." Mina stated innocently.

Kagami felt her insides warm and a new sense of innocence was also bestowed upon her by simply hearing the child's logic. Love to her was so perfect and simple, a concept that Kagami wished could still apply to her life. After enduring so many tragedies and downfalls, to meet this child and have a major part of her life that she wanted for so long simply redefined in the simplest terms confirmed for Kagami that this was her new home. Kagami had to go through so much torture and she honestly believed that she would never find true love but now she believed she finally has and in two forms no less.

She felt infinite affection for the child she was carrying inside her and even for this little girl who had such a beautiful and simple grasp on reality that it would be the envy of any adult. Kagami didn't know anything about her baby yet whether it was its gender or what its physical appearance would be like, but she already loved it unconditionally. Still, she needed another form of love in her life. She wanted to be needed by another human in a different way than motherhood defined. She wanted to be the second half to another person's life and every time Mina would mention Junichi, Kagami believed more and more that she had her answer to who it was. Kagami still had needs as a young woman and may have had sex before, but she wanted to know the feeling of truly making love and being held by someone who was in love with her and where the feeling was mutual.

The warm and nurturing caress of the summer weather gently rocked Mina to sleep in Kagami's embrace while she rested her back on the tree. She stroked the sleeping child's head endlessly and hoped that her child would come out as perfect as this sleeping girl. Kagami couldn't help but smile and kiss the child's head gently and allow the peaceful day to grace her. Another hour passed until Kagami slowly began nodding off to sleep but she decided to look around the perfect scenery one more time.

She scanned the green and blue scenery until she spotted something to her left at the bottom of the small hill. Her heart once again palpitated, her palms sweated, and she started shaking when she saw Junichi sitting at the bottom of the hill and to her surprise, he held a sketchbook in his hands and appeared to be drawing something. He was so focused on moving his pencil across the paper and his intense look illustrated that until he looked up again. When he saw Kagami had finally spotted him, he smiled, closed the book, and stood to walk up the hill.

With each step he took, Kagami's heart rhythm only intensified and she gulped to try and calm herself while taking deep breaths as Junichi reached the top and sat down next to her and the sleeping Mina. Kagami glanced at him and whispered, "Where have you been all day? I was hoping I could talk to you but I found this little one instead. She is beautiful, isn't she?"

Junichi smiled and gently ran his hand across Mina's head before retracting it and he looked back at Kagami. "They both are."

Kagami was confused by this statement but Junichi quickly added more before she could ask.

"I was out taking care of some business today."

Kagami sighed. "Drug business?"

"Yes...but more of an errand to make sure it doesn't keep spreading in the streets. I'm working on something big, Kagami. I'm still working on getting that garbage out of the streets and for us to make a new venture." Junichi added.

"What will you be pushing then if you're getting out the drug business? Is it something better or worse?" Kagami asked and feared the answer.

Junichi remained silent for awhile until he responded. "Better or worse...that will depend on who you ask."

Kagami sighed and turned her head back to look at the sleeping child. "As long as this one and everyone else here will remain safe."

Junichi placed his hand on Kagami's shoulder, nearly making her jump as she looked back at him. He responded, "Don't worry. No one here will ever see the streets for what they really are. I promise you that This place is like a dome of safety and so shall it remain. I'll die before I let it become anything less."

Satsified with his vague but still reassuring response, Kagami smiled at him and redirected her attention at his sketchbook that he still clung to. "What were you drawing a little bit ago?"

Junichi tightened his grip on the book and sighed. He put the sketchbook in his other hand nearest the tree before he responded. "I'll show you in a bit. But for now I have a question for you."

"I'm listening."

"I already see that Mina-chan showed you her special place, so do you trust me to take you somewhere that is very special to me?" Junichi asked, making Kagami tilt her head in confusion. "It's a bit of a drive from here but I promise you it'll be worthwhile and I have something very important that I want to tell you there as well. Of course, none of that will be able to happen if you don't trust me. So Kagami...do you trust me?"

Kagami gulped again but found herself confident enough to answer, "Yes...I trust you, Junichi."

He smiled again at her and nodded once. "Be at my place at eight o'clock tonight."

She gulped again upon hearing how serious he was about this desire to take her somewhere but admired his directness. She nodded slowly to promise she would meet him later and he stood. Without saying one more word, he turned and walked back down the hill and soon disappeared around a corner that led him back into the neighborhood. Something odd struck Kagami though. She noticed that he didn't turn back once to look at her and she sighed, thinking that maybe their feelings weren't mutual after all. It wasn't until she glanced down and saw a corner of his sketchbook resting against the tree that she realized why. Kagami was smart enough to know that he wouldn't have left it there by accident so it was on purpose for her to find.

Careful not to wake Mina, Kagami slowly reached for it and was able to reel it in and she held the closed book in her hands. She slowly opened it to the first page and saw what Junichi was drawing. It was an image that sealed everything for her and lit her soul on fire. She could no longer deny her feelings upon seeing what Junichi saw when he was sketching. Kagami's eyes filled with tears and she wanted to cry over the sheer beauty that was nestled within the paper's sovereignty. Junichi's earlier statement of "they both are" regarding the sleeping Mina now made sense to Kagami as well.

The image Junichi drew was of Kagami, but it was so much more than that. It was a picture of Kagami dressed in a white silk dress and large feathery angelic wings were hanging out of her back and Kagami's stomach was enlarged to the point where she looked nine months pregnant. She held a peaceful smile with closed eyes on her face while her arms were gently wrapped around her large stomach as if she was already cradling her baby. Her long hair was also wafting in an invisible breeze and the hem of her dress also danced and spiraled with the wind in the picture. The image altogether was so detailed and perfect and Junichi was able to reveal yet another talent that he had. Everything in the portrait regarding Kagami herself was flawless whether it was her hair, her figure, facial details, her smile, eyes, atmosphere, whatever. Junichi was able to capture every single thing that was perfect about Kagami in one single sheet of paper.

This was how Junichi saw Kagami. Junichi saw her as more than just another person. He saw her as a divine being and a symbol of motherhood that was sent to him for an unknown reason. Kagami didn't care what that reason was though anymore. Being able to see this side of herself through his eyes confirmed everything for her. She was in love with him. Still trying not to disturb Mina, Kagami closed the sketchbook and hugged it tightly to her chest as she felt the water drops run down her cheeks. Never in her entire life had someone cared so much about her in such an intimate fashion that they saw her as an angel despite all the things she did to herself, her family, and friends. Kagami took all of this as a sign that all of this was part of a plan and it persuaded her to want to stay with him permanently.

What made Kagami fret the most was not the fact that she admitted to herself that she was in love, but it was the fact that Junichi told her to be at his home at eight and it was only nine o'clock in the morning when he said it. She tried to do whatever she could to both pass the time and keep herself from obsessing about what it was Junichi had in store for her tonight. It was also the fact that he told her that he needed to tell her something important that was stressing her out. She had a feeling she already knew what it was but it was still the strong unknown presence that frightened her.

Kagami played with Mina and her friends for most of the day while also becoming further integrated into the world that she now wanted to call her permanent residence. As usual she was treated with gracious and sincere hospitality from every resident there. Becoming closer to all of them, Kagami also started to talk to everyone she could and the general consensus was all the same. Everyone respected Junichi, yet Kagami's intuition was still telling her something.

For some reason, she believed that everyone knew something about her that no one would share. She got the feeling whenever she would see someone in the streets whisper to someone else when they saw Kagami. The eerie feeling she got from it told her that they were no longer speaking of her as if they were speculating that she and Junichi had a possible connection. Instead, it felt as if they were gossiping about a possible secret that possibly Junichi himself was keeping from her. Kagami was tempted to ask him about it, but she was more interested in what was on his mind. At least for now.

By the time the evening began to arrive, Kagami was ready to start pulling her hair out with madness. The last time she saw Junichi was this morning when he presented her with that heartfelt drawing of her as a pregnant angel. She sat on her bed in her room and held the sketchbook in her hands as her eyes were locked on the drawing. In her mind, she desperately wanted it to be a mirror that she held instead of just a picture even though she knew that according to Junichi, that was her true appearance in the picture.

A knock came on her door and Mama Sanae's voice said, "Honey, dinner is ready."

"Okay. Thank you." Kagami answered as she closed the sketchbook, placed it on her bed, and exited her room to enter the kitchen.

Kagami sat down at the table across from the kind woman and started eating after she gave her thanks. As she ate, Mama Sanae stated, "So Junichi is taking you to his favorite spot tonight?"

The twin-tailed girl looked up from her meal. "Um...yes. I'm actually looking forward to it."

Mama Sanae chuckled happily, stirring some peculiarities in Kagami. "Why, should I be worried?"

"Oh I wouldn't worry too much about it, deary. Besides, almost all the people he takes there come back alive." She replied with a smile.

Kagami's eyes went big and she gulped while tilting her head. "Uh...say what?"

Mama Sanae started laughing. "Just kidding, sweety. I've been there before and you're going to have a great time."

Kagami couldn't help but breathe a small sigh of relief and giggled with a small grin. "You really snuck that one up on me. But really, this place he's taking me. Is it nice."

"I wish I could tell you more, deary, but I don't want to spoil anything. Junichi really enjoys going to that spot and he never took anyone else there with him before so what does that tell you?" She asked, making a shade of red form across Kagami's face. "Besides...words don't even come close to doing it justice. You'll just have to see it for yourself."

Kagami nodded and slid another spoonful of food into her mouth. As she swallowed it, a new sensation released itself from within her. The muscles within her abdomen, especially around her uterus were starting to cramp. It was painful and it came so suddenly that Kagami dropped her spoon and quickly hugged her stomach and around her womb as she pushed the chair back and bent down.

"Deary, what's wrong?" Mama Sanae asked as she quickly stood and came over to Kagami.

"It...it hurts a bit." Kagami squeaked as she held her stomach.

"Can you stand straight up?" Mama Sanae asked as she held the pain-struck girl.

Kagami slowly rose from her chair and was able to stand straight up and as quick as the pain came, it quickly evacuated her senses. She still rubbed her womb creating her child and sighed. "That was strange. What happened to me?"

"You're pregnant, dear. It is just regular hormonal stuff happening inside your body." She answered with her bright smile. "Don't worry. I had terrible cramps when I was pregnant with my daughter so just sit down and have some water."

Kagami took her advice and put the seemingly trivial occurrence out of her mind and finished her dinner. It wasn't soon enough though as the clock continued to tick slowly forward and Kagami couldn't pry herself away from it. As the hour neared, Kagami couldn't bear it any longer. With time to spare, she left the house and walked down the evening street towards Junichi's house. The strains of the unknown had finally gotten to Kagami and she needed to know what was on this young man's mind.

When she rounded the corner and saw his house, she didn't expect to see him standing outside and next to a black sport bike fiddling with a helmet. As she got closer, she could see the bike was all black with a silver stripe on each side with a kanji message engraved in the stripe, which stated, "REDEMPTION, COME FORTH." The wheels were sparkling red with silver spokes and most of all, it looked very, very, very fast. The bike itself was a Ducati 1000DS.

Junichi looked up and smiled at her. "You're early. I like that. Here you go."

He outstretched his hand holding the helmet and Kagami put the basic equation together and didn't like the answer. She folded her arms, turned around, and huffed angrily, "Do you honestly expect me to get on that damn thing? You're out of your mind."

"Aw, come on, Kagami. It won't bite. I've driven this thing for years and I never had an accident in my life...that was my fault." He snickered as a joke.

"Forget it!" Kagami snapped back.

"Don't you trust me?" His voice suddenly became serious.

Kagami slowly turned to look at him and to reply. "I do...I just don't trust something that can go so fast that it'll throw me into the next century if we crash."

Junichi quickly tossed the helmet to Kagami and her reflexes took over. She quickly caught the helmet and frowned at him when she secured it in her grasp. Junichi climbed on the bike, slid another helmet over his head, and started the loud engine. He turned to her one final time and said, "Trust is a lot like driving one of these things, Kagami. It's always a two-way street and you have to have lightning fast reflexes if something goes wrong. You have all of those qualities...so put it on and hang on tight."

Kagami sighed and didn't want to argue any further with him. She tied her hair together and slid the helmet over her head and climbed on behind Junichi. She wrapped her arms around his toned torso and constricted her grip when the bike started moving. She nearly screamed when he vroomed the engine and the bike took off like a rocket down the empty street but she kept telling herself that she did trust him.

She couldn't talk to him throughout the entire trip as the engine was too loud. All she could do was hold on for dear life and pray that there wouldn't be an accident as they zipped around countless curves and turns. As they passed the half hour mark into their trip, Kagami noticed they were starting to go uphill and that they hadn't seen another car for awhile. It was completely dark by this point so Kagami had no idea where they were and from the looks of things, she was still nervous as to where Junichi was taking her. Her eyes caught the sights of black trees with the dark sky above them and thousands of stars though they were moving too fast for her to gaze at them.

By the time the trip had reached forty-five minutes, Kagami was ready to call it off for wanting to get off the bike if nothing else until Junichi began to slow down. They were still climbing uphill but Kagami peeked over his shoulders and saw they were nearing the top and the road would level off from there. It seemed to nearly be over, making her loosen her vice-like grip on him as he pulled to the side of the road and stopped the bike.

When he put the kickstand down and shut the engine off, Kagami wasted no time in taking her helmet off but before she could look around, Junichi stood above her. "I need you to close your eyes. I'll lead you from here."

Kagami squinted at him and quickly glanced around her settings one more time. "You drove me forty-five minutes into the woods at night time and now you want me to close my eyes? I gotta tell you...I'm kind of glad that this wasn't what you did on our first date."

Junichi huffed with a smirk. "I know...but remember what I said about trusting me."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah." Kagami retorted sarcastically and rolled her eyes before closing them.

Junichi stepped behind her and began to guide her by her shoulders across the street as the chirping crickets sounded and added a more intense concept of isolation. They were literally in the middle of nowhere and Junichi himself could barely see where he was going. He was simply going by memory as he led Kagami forward and she kept her eyelids sealed shut.

"We're gonna have to time this just right." Junichi whispered as he glanced at his watch, telling him he only had seconds to spare.

The made it across the street and stepped onto a dirt path that led them further into the darkness of the night surrounded by the forest. Layers of mist were slowly rising up around their ankles and the silver moon shining in-between tree trunks made them glow. The hoot of an owl made Kagami jump slightly but she still trusted the young man who was escorting her into an unusual location.

They finally made it into a clearing and Junichi led Kagami with her eyes still closed to a small stone wall that came up to her hips and stopped short of it. He looked up at the night sky and smiled as they arrived just in time for the show and Junichi took a step back and whispered, "Alright...open your eyes."

Kagami slowly lifted her eyelids and when she was able to comprehend what she was witnessing, she gasped loudly and breathed deeply. She was standing on a scenic overlook in the woods that stood high on a mountaintop above all of Saitama. The tens of thousands of lights glittering in the city below made it look like a Christmas show but that wasn't the greatest part of all. Movement in the bright starry sky prompted Kagami to look up and thousands of shooting stars were streaking across the sky. It was a spectacular meteor shower complemented by billions of stars in the sky that was mixed of both black, blue, violet, and orange colors and she cupped her mouth with her hands.

"It...it's so beautiful..." she whispered as her eyes were glued to the indescribable light show above her.

"I come here often for personal reflection time. Every now and then I want my space to think and to ponder if what I'm doing is the right thing." Junichi replied. "I come here for inspiration. But I haven't come here in awhile because I was able to find something else to give me even more inspiration."

Barely able to turn away from the sight, Kagami slowly turned her head to him. "What could be more inspiring than this?"

Junichi gulped, making Kagami blush slightly until his answer lit her core on fire. He opened his mouth and softly replied, "You."

Kagami's face turned pure red and she quickly turned around again. "I...I...uh...you're...you're not making any sense."

"Kagami...that very important thing I needed to tell you. It is actually a question. Will you be my girlfriend, Kagami?" He asked.

Kagami's head shot up again and she stared out into the perfect scenery and she trembled. Her heart pounded wildly and she formed two fists and held them over the thumping organ for fear of it breaking out. There was only one person in the past who attempted to take her as his girlfriend and that was Ryuji Katsumoto, though he had a secret agenda that entailed Kagami's downfall. As soon as Junichi asked her this, Ryuji's face flashed in her mind and she cringed initially. It wasn't until all the memories began replaying in her mind of how much he had done for her and how much he bent over backwards to make sure she was comfortable and healthy.

As Kagami mulled over her decision, an incredible foresight came to her as she looked up again at the shooting stars. The vast cosmic galaxy above them became a swirling cyclone cloud of what she wanted for herself in her life and she could see it. She saw herself years in the future and she was sitting on a blanket in a flowery meadow in the midst of a real picnic lunch on a summer day. Her stomach was large again and containing a baby inside, but it wasn't her first one. As she rubbed her pregnant uterus gently with a smile, she looked up and saw something.

She saw a man with tattoos all about his arm and had a strong body as he played with a little boy. They were playing catch together in the colorful field and each person had a large smile on her face. Kagami soon heard the voice of another child and she turned her head to see a little girl run towards the man playing catch with the boy and she had several dandelions in her grip. She rushed up to him and grabbed his attention by tugging on his shirt and when he turned and bent down to her, she gave him the yellow flowers. He took them with a smile and hugged the little girl tightly and planted kisses all over her cheek as she laughed happily.

"Come on, let's go have lunch now with your mother." Junichi's voice echoed in Kagami's vision and they joined her on the blanket.

With her vision now streaking apart and turned into the countless shooting stars, Junichi slowly approached her with concern. He placed his hand on her shoulder and asked her name. The response Kagami gave was one that took him by surprise. She latched onto his hand and pulled him closer so his chest pressed up against her back and Kagami guided his hand to cover her womb. She held his hand there and fished for his other one until she found it and placed it on top of his other one and Kagami rested back in his grip.

"Junichi...when this child is born...it's going to need a father." Kagami whispered.

Hearing such a deep sentiment in an even deeper voice made Junichi gulp but he instinctively pulled Kagami closer to him and looked up at the shooting stars with her. His only response was, "I see. What can we do about that?"

Silence fell upon them until something new happened that gave Junichi the answer to his question. Both he and Kagami motioned their heads simultaneously and he looked down at her face while she stared up into his eyes. Their eyelids slowly closed and all at once, their faces neared. Their lips connected just as more shooting stars grazed over them and made the couple feel that for once, they were the center of the galaxy.


	43. Chapter 43

CHAPTER 42

Tsukasa and Inori continued to bond and become closer together ever since Kagami was disowned by the family, something that nobody thought was possible. Everyone thought that Tsukasa would wither and collapse without her twin nearby but Inori helped defy the odds and keep the youngest Hiiragi daughter leveled. Even in lieu of Yuka Miyakawa's break-in of the Hiiragi household, Tsukasa still felt safe with her biggest sister and Inori was able to help her rekindle most of her strength.

A week after the break-in and as Kagami entered her ninth week of pregnancy, which was still unknown to the family, Tsukasa finally felt safe and secured enough to move back into her own room. She had been staying in Inori's room and even in the same bed with her until she was ready to move out. Even though they were in the same house and only thirty feet down the hallway, Tsukasa still felt that she was moving out of the house entirely when she spent the first night back in her old room. Still, to give Tsukasa more peace of mind, Tadao put a padlock on all the windows and also bought additional locks for all the doors, ones that no one would be able to unlock unless they were already in the house.

Also, Inori kept spending all of her spare time with Tsukasa no matter what they were doing. Though it was strenuous on Inori at times, she still knew that it was her own little sister at stake, which always helped her remember to put her own petty desires aside to help her. Still, everyone was beginning to notice a new pattern in Tsukasa. When they were out in public, Tsukasa was starting to show more of a leadership persona and didn't express any discomfort in fear. Though she still had some fears of the dark and the night because of Miyakawa, everyone was beginning to notice huge strides in Tsukasa's maturing personality with Kagami taken away from her.

Today, the two sisters found themselves at the mall as another special day was nearing. The wedding anniversary of their parents was just around the corner and it was going to be the first one with half of their children gone from their lives. Naturally, they wanted to make this one extra special for them so they were out searching for the perfect presents. Though Miki and Tadao were simple parents and always said that the company of their children was present enough, Inori and Tsukasa both knew that this anniversary was going to be difficult without Matsuri or Kagami around.

"Well I'll admit it, Tsukasa. I was pessimistic in the beginning but that gift was a great idea." Inori said as she walked next to her sister, who was holding the anniversary gift they bought by combining all the money they had.

Tsukasa smiled as she held it. A pewter plate was in her grip with Miki's and Tadao's faces engraved in the metal with the same expressions as they displayed in their wedding portrait. The wedding present was also meant to be a replacement for one of the priceless plates that Kagami stole to fuel her drug addiction. Tsukasa read the personalized message circling the outer section of the plate.

"For our parents, through night and day, you have given us all the love for which we have prayed. Happy Anniversary. Love Tsukasa and Inori."

Tsukasa closed her eyes and giggled happily again and put it back in her shopping bag. "Thank you, sis. I'm glad you like it."

Inori nodded back. "And that small poem as the message was also very nice. It is so true, isn't it?"

Tsukasa nodded back. "It is. And thanks for coming with me to pick it up."

"Of course. I couldn't bare to pass up an opportunity to be with my favorite sis!" Inori proclaimed again. "Hey I'm starving. How about some lunch? My treat."

"Okay!" Tsukasa happily obliged.

The two sisters navigated through the shopping mall and as they neared the food court, something suddenly popped into Tsukasa's mind. A painful memory resurfaced of something that happened two months ago when Tsukasa tried to take Kagami shopping shortly after Matsuri died. Kagami saw a girl who looked just like Matsuri, prompting the twin-tailed Hiiragi to chase after her and create a spectacle of herself. Tsukasa stopped at the front of the food court and Inori took notice.

She too stopped and turned to her little sister and was immediately concerned by the facial expression she saw. "Is something wrong, Tsukasa?"

The youngest Hiiragi sighed and shook her head. "No, no I'm fine, Inori."

Inori watched Tsukasa rejoin her but she was still concerned. "Are you sure? Do you want to talk about it?"

Tsukasa shook her head again. "I'm fine, really."

Inori didn't want to push the issue any further so she backed off and nodded. "Okay...so what are you in the mood for?"

"Oh I'm fine with whatever, sis. Since it's your treat, you should be able to have a say in it, too." Tsukasa said with a smile.

The two sisters agreed on fast food and found a place to sit in the food court. As they ate, Inori looked up again and saw Tsukasa was struggling to keep her depressed expression away from her face. Inori could easily tell that something was troubling Tsukasa and she realized that even though she respected Tsukasa's privacy, she was still her big sister and wanted to make sure she was okay.

"Tsukasa...I can tell that something is bothering you." Inori uttered, making Tsukasa look up from her meal. "If you don't want to share with me, I understand. However, I want us to have the same kind of relationship that you and Kagami once had. I want us to be open and honest about everything and to know that all of our secrets are safe with each other. Before you and Kagami came along, Matsuri and I were just like you two were and we shared everything with each other. In the end, I just want you to know that you're not alone, Tsukasa. We both lost our best friends so we can always confide in each other regarding that. So anytime you want to talk about anything, and I mean anything, please don't be afraid to come to me, Tsukasa."

The youngest Hiiragi girl tried to hold herself together as she was deeply touched by this affectionate outreach by her biggest sister. She sniffed once and looked up. "Okay, Inori. It...it was actually kind of hard for me to come here today. After Matsuri...you know...I tried to cheer Kagami up by taking her to this exact same mall and we had an incident here. She saw a girl who looked a lot like Matsuri and she chased after her."

Inori shook her head. "That's horrible. When did all of that happen?"

"It happened that day when Kagami left me alone on the train and she came home with those sunglasses on and said the f-word to mom." Tsukasa recalled the day that Kagami took drugs for the first time.

Inori scratched her chin. "Now that you mention it I do remember her acting very strange when she came home. In retrospect, I believe she was high when she came home."

"Anyway, all I wanted was to make Kagami happy but...it just wasn't meant to be." Tsukasa formed another sad look on her face.

Inori acted on old instincts and took a napkin from the dispenser and held it to Tsukasa. "Don't cry, Tsukasa. You did all you could and a lot more than the rest of us were willing to do."

To Inori's surprise, Tsukasa looked up and both her eyes were dry. Tsukasa wasn't crying at all anymore. Only a few weeks ago, Tsukasa would be having a meltdown in this setup but now it appeared that Inori was staring at a whole new version of her sister. Tsukasa shook her head slowly and Inori retracted the napkin as Tsukasa rested her head on her hand while propping her elbow on the table and she sighed.

"I'm not crying, Inori...because I'm done crying over Kagami. Spending all this time with you has really done a lot of good for me. I now know that the world isn't perfect and that things change...and people change." Tsukasa sighed again with depression but acceptance. "With Kagami gone, I was able to realize that I need to stand on my own two feet and that I won't always have someone who will come running to my rescue. I need to fight my own battles and accept that I cannot win all of them. Dr. Kishimoto has also helped a lot and I believe that I'm going to be okay about taking the life from the nurse. I know it wasn't my fault now."

Inori sat back and reveled in her little sister's stunning newfound outlook on life. For awhile, everyone in the Hiiragi family believed that Tsukasa would have to rely on Kagami for everything well into their adult years. Now that her support was taken away and Tsukasa was forced to accept it, it seemed to have accelerated her maturity and strength in herself. As proud as they were of Tsukasa for coming so far from simply being a wallflower in Kagami's shadow, they only wished that it could've come under better circumstances, such as Tsukasa's own personal journey of self-discovery at college.

"Wow, Tsukasa...words cannot even begin to express how proud I am of you." Inori said with a smile. "That was very profound and heartfelt. It's speeches like that that confirm for me that you're going to go far in life."

Tsukasa blushed slightly. "Thank you for saying so, sis. It really means a lot to me."

As the two sister shared a harmonious silence, a new but just as tranquil voice caught their attention when it said, "Oh my...fancy meeting you here, Tsukasa-san."

Tsukasa looked towards the voice and her heart was set ablaze with indescribable happiness when she saw Miyuki Takara standing before them and was escorted by Minami Iwasaki. What made Tsukasa rocket up from her seat was not only the presence of her friend, but it was also what was sparkling about her face. Miyuki stared at Tsukasa with her usual charming smile and two glistening eyes to complement it.

"Yuki-chan...your eyes..." Tsukasa stuttered as the last time she saw Miyuki was at her hospital bed with a massive white bandage wrapped around her head covering her left empty eye socket.

Miyuki giggled. "Yes, Tsukasa-san, I have two eyes. My left eye is artificial and was custom made for me by my parents. What do you think? Does it look real?"

Tsukasa was speechless as Inori watched. The youngest Hiiragi girl couldn't take her eyes off Miyuki's sparkling beautiful face which was once again complemented by a replacement pair of glasses. She was flawless once again. Even with an artificial eye, Tsukasa honestly couldn't tell it was fake. Miyuki looked as gracious and as picturesque as the day they graduated high school together two months ago. The look on Tsukasa's face was priceless but Miyuki was still concerned about how she looked and if the glass eye was convincing enough.

"You...you...you're beautiful, Yuki-chan." Tsukasa whispered and hugged Miyuki, who returned the gesture.

"Thank you so much, Tsukasa-san. That means so much to me." Miyuki replied softly. "The doctors decided to let me out of the hospital so I can test it out and Minami-chan is here with me as my helper until I get used to seeing the world with only one eye."

"And you're doing really well, Miyuki." Minami proclaimed with happiness.

Miyuki smiled back at Minami and nodded once and turned back to Tsukasa and her sister. "We were just about to get something to eat, too. I hope we're not intruding."

Tsukasa shook her head quickly. "Of course not! Please sit down and join us!"

Though Miyuki was still reluctant to come between sister time, when she saw Inori also invite them to join them, she and Minami pulled chairs over and sat down with them. Minami took her own initiative and took Miyuki's lunch order and left them to fetch it while the pink-haired girl conversed with her friend.

"So please tell me how you and your family have been since I've been in the hospital, Tsukasa-san." Miyuki invited warmly.

Tsukasa didn't know how to answer that initially since so much had changed since the last time she saw Miyuki. Miyuki was still unaware of Kagami's disownment but had some idea that Tsukasa was held captive by an assailant. Regardless, Tsukasa kept the answer rather bland and stated that they were doing a little better and were just trying to figure out where they went from there with all the drama they had at home.

Miyuki knew that talking about Kagami was still a very sensitive issue, especially considering what Kagami did to Miyuki and the pink-haired girl knew that even though no one would be able to tell that she had only one functioning eyeball, every time Tsukasa would look at Miyuki, it would only remind her of Kagami's rampage. Even though the two friends were now seeing each other on better circumstances, it still didn't take away from what happened to them. It seemed now that no matter what kind of conversation they had, it would always be filled with painful memories, especially when they would talk about each other's plans for the future. Miyuki was still recovering from her injuries and now that she was going to miss her abroad time to France, she had to start from scratch and begin the application process all over again.

Tsukasa on the other hand was still up in the air about going to school at all starting in the fall, which was less than two months away. She also didn't want to talk about her home life as much, especially considering the fact that it seemed the family had a stalker and they didn't know what she wanted from them except to seemingly harass them to no end. Despite their limited number of conversations, Tsukasa and Miyuki tried to make the best of it and Tsukasa was just reveling in simply seeing Miyuki again and to see that she was in good health. Tsukasa did ask Miyuki for advice regarding school and despite all that had happened to her, Miyuki was still able to smile and give sincere opinions, just like when Konata visited her once before in the hospital.

"Life is a journey, not a race...and it isn't how you start, it's how you finish." She said with a smile and a wink.

Tsukasa took the advice with a smile and a nod, thinking she knew what to do with herself from here on out.

It was a great visit from Miyuki and Minami and Tsukasa was disappointed when it had to come to an end, but the Hiiragi sisters needed to get their parents' wedding anniversary present home and wrap it. As the two sisters took the train ride home, Tsukasa couldn't help but glance out the window and spot a dark haze on the horizon. She tilted her head at the sight as the train zipped down the tracks.

"Hm...it seems a storm is coming..." she whispered to herself.

When Inori and Tsukasa arrived home, they felt that old peculiar calm before the storm. Everything around their property was quiet with the exception of a few gusts of wind blowing accompanied by the rattling of tree branches and leaves shaking in the breaths of wind. A few fallen leaves scattered around the ground and the temperature dropped slightly, indicating the rainstorm was nearing as a clap of thunder echoed in the distance.

With their parents conveniently out for the moment, Inori and Tsukasa wrapped the present together and Tsukasa hid it under her bed. The storm soon arrived over Saitama and was in full swing with flashes of lightning, followed by thunder, and accompanied by the massive raindrops. The two sisters also watched a movie together in the living room as the rain pattered against the windows and rooftop of the house. Even when their parents returned home, they kept the gift a secret from them and as the hours wore on, bedtime soon came for them.

As Inori climbed the stairs to start her bedtime routine, the sound of a human walking on the rooftop of the Hiiragi house was masked perfectly by the large storm outside. Inori entered her bedroom, a place she always loved, especially at night. Her bedroom was just like her sisters' but with one additional perk. It had a skylight window on her ceiling and as a little girl, she always loved looking through the large window and counting the stars until she fell asleep. She closed her door and looked up at the window, only to see infinite blackness because of the storm. She sighed because there would be no star gazing tonight as she looked down again and started taking her clothes off.

Inori didn't look away a moment too soon when a human face slowly parted out of the darkness and gazed into the light of the bedroom. The fiery eyes and burning sinister glare of Yuka Miyakawa peered into the room and saw Inori take her shirt off and stand in her floral patterned bra.

"Fresh meat..." Miyakawa whispered with a teeth-bearing grin as she continued to become more and more soaked from the rain.

As Inori was about to unhook her bra and drop it, her cell phone began ringing on her dresser, abruptly making her stop her undressing and walk out of view of the skylight window, infuriating Miyakawa.

"Fuck..." she hissed. "No matter...I'll be seeing you soon enough, Inori Hiiragi...and so will Kagami. To think...Kagami is going to bring you right into my possession...and she'll do it by choice. So sleep tight, my precious Inori, for your beauty, purity, and passions will soon be mine."

As Inori finished her conversation on the phone with another friend, she hung up the phone just as a lightning bolt illuminated the skylight window and showed Yuka Miyakawa staring through it with a bloodlust smile on her face. Inori suddenly felt a chill run down her spine and she looked up at the window just as another lightning bolt brightened the window. All Inori saw was the dark sky above her and more water falling from it, making her believe she was imagining things and she continued to get ready for bed.

(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(- )-(-)

The storm drenching Saitama had not yet reached the neighborhood where Kagami was staying with her newfound group of friends and boyfriend. For the first time in an indescribable length of time, she was happy. She felt loved and wanted and honestly knew what it was like to be in love with someone and for the feelings to be mutual. Every time Kagami saw and felt Junichi touch her, she felt the butterflies flutter in her stomach, her heart sped up, and her entire core was warmed. Being near him was like running through an endless summer meadow, much like Mina-chan's favorite spot. Even a simple gesture of hand holding made Kagami feel like she was flying and on top of the world.

Hearing the roar of thunder in the distance didn't even faze Kagami as she sat in the comfortable chair in Junichi's living room as she read one of his books. They had just finished another dinner together and Junichi took it upon himself to clear the table and do all the dishes as he wanted Kagami to keep resting. It would make Junichi go crazy with rage every time he would see a pregnant woman being forced to work so as long as Kagami was with him, he made it his life's calling to ensure that she was always comfortable.

As Kagami rested in the reclining padded chair, her ears were also treated to the soft and classical music of Ludwig Van Beethoven. She always heard that listening to classical music when one was pregnant helped the baby's intellectual growth. Though some saw it as a wise tale, she still wanted to make sure her baby had everything given to it during the pregnancy whether it was superstition or not. The music of Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata sounded throughout the small house while she read.

Junichi finished the dishes and came into the living room with two cups of steaming tea, prompting Kagami to look up. She smiled at him while placing the book down and she took the tea and drank a bit of it as he sat down next to her. Kagami placed the tea down, connected her hand with Junichi's, and the couple pulled each other close.

"Dinner was lovely as always, dear. I'm glad that I was able to sweep you off your feet before any other man could." Kagami said with a snickering smile.

"You're welcome, honey." Junichi replied sarcastically while rolling his eyes and he scooted closer to Kagami's stomach and whispered, "Your mother is making fun of me again. We're gonna have to do something about that when you arrive."

Kagami giggled again and deepened her smile when she felt Junichi lightly kiss her stomach and place his muscular hand on it and rub it gently. She sighed happily and slowly sat up and kissed his head while whispering, "Thank you, Junichi, for everything."

He looked back up and smiled at her. "You know you mean a lot to me, right?"

Kagami nodded. "I do. I can never thank you enough for helping me and taking care of me. I just have one issue though."

Junichi tilted his head. "What's that."

"I...I...I want to go home and make peace with my family...and I want you to come with." Kagami said and tightened her grip on his hand. "I want them to know that I'm okay and that I'm moving on with my life."

Junichi looked away. "I...I see..."

"Is something wrong?"

"No...it's just that...I don't think you should just give up on school so easily. I'll help put you through college and you can still make a real honest living for yourself." Junichi replied. "I love you and I'm grateful that you're here, but I would be doing you a huge disservice if I didn't give you every opportunity to reach your fullest potential. I know you, Kagami, and I know that you are gifted on so many levels, so can you see why I don't want you to settle for less than you deserve?"

Kagami glanced away. "It's not that I'm giving up...but rather I'm making a choice. I want to be a mother and to be by your side. I want something good to come out of all of my bad decisions. You of all people can appreciate that, right?"

Junichi sighed. "More than you could ever know, Kagami. But to answer your request, I'd be happy to escort you home, but I don't think your family will be happy knowing that you're dating a criminal like me."

The twin-tailed girl huffed. "They already disowned me and I'm a legal adult anyway so I can make my own decisions whether they like it or not. I'm not expecting forgiveness or for them to take me back. I just want them to know that I'm okay and that I don't want them to worry about me anymore and I won't bother them anymore."

Junichi looked away and tried to wrap his mind around Kagami's logic. He didn't want to feel that he was stealing Kagami away from her family even though she was choosing to stay with him. He also wondered how Kagami would tell them she was pregnant...if she would tell them she was pregnant. If she didn't tell them and she would give birth, Junichi would feel guilty and that he would be keeping the child away from its Hiiragi side of the family. Regardless, he knew that this was Kagami's child and her decisions to make.

A new song started playing over the speakers and Junichi's ears perked up. He smiled and said, "I love this song. Care to dance?"

He stood and held out his hand as an invite for Kagami to take it. She smiled and took it and allowed him to pull her up and walk her to the middle of the living room. Junichi hugged Kagami around her lower back and pulled her close as the two joined hands and he led the twin-tailed girl in the dance to Beethoven's Fur Elise.

As the couple danced slowly together, Kagami looked up again and asked, "What is it that you're planning, Junichi?"

"Planning?"

"You've been telling me ever since I got here that you've been trying to get this neighborhood out of the drug business and into something else. I was wondering...what is it that you're trying to accomplish?" She asked as she stepped to the dance.

Junichi gulped. "It's rather difficult to describe and I don't really want to reveal too much just yet."

Kagami looked up. "Remember what you told me about trust? Don't you trust me?"

"I do but it isn't a question of trust. It's a question of commodities." Junichi replied. "I have several options but nothing is set in stone yet. When I do establish our new business venture, I'll want you to be involved...if you choose to."

Kagami looked up and formed a small smile. "You'll just have to trust me."

Junichi smiled back and nodded. Acting synchronized again, they both closed their eyes and put their faces together. Their lips connected again and kissed each other deeply. Kagami felt so alive as her boyfriend kissed her and she knew she was safe in his strong arms as his hands cupped her cheeks and she hugged him tightly. Kagami's lip massage continued until a knock was heard on Junichi's door.

The couple broke their kiss and Junichi walked over to the front door, opened it, and said, "Taeko-sama. What brings you here tonight?"

Kagami's ears perked up upon hearing the name. Taeko Kawabe was the woman who adopted Mina-chan and she heard the woman reply, "It's Mina. She knows a storm is coming and she's having a hard time going to sleep."

Junichi nodded. "So she wants me to read her a story. Okay lead the way."

"Actually...she's asking for Kagami." Taeko replied.

Kagami smiled and she happily stepped forth and agreed to read a bedtime story to Mina. Junichi also grinned as he watched his girlfriend walk down the street to Mina's house as it seemed that Kagami was deeply loved by everyone in the neighborhood.

The twin-tailed girl found Mina huddled tightly under her covers while holding her stuffed Panda Bear doll closely but she instantly relaxed when Kagami pulled a chair over to her bed and sat down next to her. Mina whimpered to Kagami that she was always afraid of storms for as long as she could remember but every time someone would read to her, she would always feel better.

Without further hesitation, Kagami wasted no time in reading one of Mina's favorite storybooks to her. Mina was a child that always loved stories of princesses in castles and the brave knights who risked everything to save them. As Kagami read the story though, she couldn't help but feel a slight feeling of deja vu. She saw herself as the princess trapped in the tallest tower, which was a metaphor for a life of drugs and prostitution and was guarded by a dragon, which was also a metaphor for Yuka Miyakawa. Junichi Orihara now seemed to be the knight in shining armor here to rescue Kagami and slay the dragon. It was the fact that this story seemed so real to Kagami that she was able to read it more passionately to Mina and the girl was not only entertained by the whole ordeal, she was fast asleep by the end of the story.

Kagami closed the book and smiled at the sleeping Mina and couldn't help but stand and kiss her head goodnight. She left the house after Mina's adopted parents expressed their gratitude for her help and Kagami walked down the desolate street in the dead of night as the storm neared. She could see the lightning bolts brightening the sky above her as she walked back to Junichi's house. As she walked though, she heard a group of Junichi's henchmen conversing around the corner and she didn't think much of it...until she heard one of them say her name.

Kagami's curiosity took hold and she stayed hidden on one side of another house and peered around the corner. She saw three of them armed with their rifles standing around a barrel containing a fire to keep them warm and she did her best to listen in on their conversation.

"So Junichi and that Kagami girl are an item now?" One of them asked as he held his hands out to the flames.

A second nodded. "That's what he's saying. He took her to that spot of his in the mountains to see the meteor shower and he asked her there."

The first one nodded back. "Nice gesture. I wonder if he's told her about her sister yet."

Kagami's interest grew and she leaned her ear closer to them.

"I doubt it, otherwise I don't think that Hiiragi would be as calm as she has been." He replied. "Still, I feel sorry for her. To know that you were used and abused by that fucking cunt Miyakawa and to not know that that wasn't the first time that Miyakawa slithered into her family. Goddamn that would sting something fierce."

Kagami's face scrunched into a bizarre expression that illustrated both anger, fear, confusion, and devastation. Were these words true? Did the relentlessly depraved Yuka Miyakawa strike the Hiiragi family once before she corrupted Kagami? In addition to that, could it be possible that Junichi, the man that she was entrusting her safety and emotions to, was keeping a secret from her after all those dialogues regarding trust? The very possibility of it made Kagami's blood boil and she quickly moved away from the conversation and took another route to Junichi's house. As she walked though, she felt her uterus cramping again but ignored it and pressed onward.

When she returned to his house, she quickly stormed inside to see him reading one of his own books. The sudden intrusion caught him by surprise and he quickly stood while asking, "What's wrong, Kagami?"

"Are you keeping something from me?!" Kagami snapped.

Junichi gave a puzzled look. "Keeping something from you? I don't understand."

"I overheard a few of your guys talking about me and they said that Miyakawa had done something to my family before! Are they telling the truth or is that just bullshit?!" Kagami snapped again with more anger.

Kagami's boyfriend now understood what Kagami was so angry about. At first, Junichi thought she was thinking of infidelity but this was ironically more serious than that. He showed several uncomfortable facial expressions until he sighed and rubbed his head.

He took a deep breath and said, "You might want to sit down for this, Kagami."

Kagami's anger suddenly faded and she now became more concerned. It was clear that something was on his mind and Kagami listened to him and sat down in the chair she was reading in only an hour earlier and Junichi took a knee next to her.

"First off, I wish to apologize to you for not telling you, but I thought you knew." Junichi said and cleared his throat. "Remember the day that you had your fight with Matsuri and she left the house angrily and died in the accident?"

Kagami nodded.

"Do you remember everything you said to her that made her leave the house?" Junichi asked.

Kagami searched her memory and recalled, "I remember when I came home, my parents asked me if I had sex with anyone and that Matsuri made a mistake at a party once. Later that day, what started our fight was I asked what she did and I acted like I knew what she did when I really didn't and she had a meltdown."

Junichi nodded. "I see. Kagami...brace yourself for this...but Matsuri was inebriated and seduced by Yuka Miyakawa."

All the color in Kagami's face drained.

"Miyakawa seduced your sister and convinced her to have sex with her...and Ryuji was there filming the whole thing. When Matsuri came to her senses, she begged Miyakawa not to post the video online and said she would do anything to keep it off the Internet." Junichi said with remorse. "Miyakawa promised she wouldn't put it online as long as Matsuri did a few favors for her, including servicing her whenever she wanted...but Miyakawa put the video online right away. Miyakawa said she would be in touch and to expect her call soon but she let Matsuri worry and fret over it for a week until she sent the URL link to the sex tape to her just to mock her. I heard that the video had over a million views worldwide."

Silence fell between them and Kagami started breathing hard and angrily. Kagami started panting through her gritting teeth, "She...she...she...she blackmailed...my...sister...?!"

Junichi gulped. "Not really, Kagami. Miyakawa didn't want anything from her or your family...she just wanted to torture and humiliate Matsuri. That's all."

Kagami quickly shot up and trembled uncontrollably with a look of both burning rancor hatred and devastation. Suddenly, a deadly realization came to Kagami's mind. She remembered some of Matsuri's last words she ever spoke to Kagami.

_"You have no idea what it's like to be humiliated and to see the look in mom and dad's eyes when they want to disown you! I never wanted that for you, Kagami!"_

Kagami wanted to scream and cry. She had made the exact same mistakes that Matsuri did despite all the warning signs and words from the hallucinations of Matsuri and Misao. Her legs began to quake as she wobbled and the constrictions around her stomach and womb got worse and the twin-tailed girl was about to scream. Before she could sound her howl of dismay, more of Matsuri's last words reemerged in Kagami's mind.

_"What about how it would make me look in the eyes of my sisters?! I would think that all the suffering and humiliation would be enough from everyone in the world but if they ever looked at me differently, I don't know what I would do!"_

It all made sense now. Matsuri's worst nightmare would be if any of her sisters ever saw her in that kind of lewd and uninhibited way, which was how Kagami turned out when she allowed herself to succumb to Miyakawa. Kagami repeated history and put herself and her family through the same challenges as Matsuri did.

"Oh god...it hurts so much!" Kagami shrieked loudly as she grabbed her womb and fell to her knees and started crying.

Junichi threw himself to the floor and he tried to comfort Kagami. "Where does it hurt?! Tell me what I can do!"

Suddenly, the absolute worst case scenario happened. Both Kagami and Junichi panicked when they saw several trails of blood drift from between Kagami's legs and down her legs from under her brown skirt. Something was happening inside her body and Kagami was now in full-blown panic.

"Junichi...! What's happening to me?! Please help me!" She cried and laid on her back.

Junichi wasted no time and scooped his girlfriend up and held her in his thick arms. "Don't worry, baby, Mama Sanae is a former nurse so she'll know what to do!"

Junichi rushed his front door and kicked it right off its hinges but he didn't care. His girlfriend was in agonizing pain and the rain started to fall upon them as Kagami kept screaming in his arms as he ran her down the street in the increasing rain. He ran the short distance to Mama Sanae's house and word of Kagami's condition exploded in the community like a bomb and despite the rain, a large crowd gathered outside the house waiting for any news on what was happening to their leader's girlfriend. It all happened so fast that so many rumors were circulating, all with zero elements of truth to them.

Mama Sanae locked herself in the guest bedroom where Kagami once was staying and worked on her as best she could. She stayed in the room for going on two hours and Junichi paced outside in her house while trying to keep himself calm. He so desperately wanted to kick in this door too and save the girl he loved but knew he would only be doing more harm than good.

When the clock struck ten o'clock at night and the storm continued to ravage the area, the door unlocked and Mama Sanae stepped out with a broken face. She removed a pair of latex gloves covered in blood and she sat the tall and muscular young man down to explain everything that had happened. The cause of it was unknown, whether it was the STDs still within Kagami, or the trauma caused by the recent revelation involving Yuka Miyakawa, but either way, the news was grim and dark, just like the weather. Junichi shielded his eyes with both hands as Mama Sanae rubbed his shoulder when she broke the news to him.

Kagami Hiiragi had a miscarriage.


	44. Chapter 44

CHAPTER 43

_Okay...I'm slowly waking up...what do I have to do today? I know I was supposed to meet Kaorin today for lunch...and we were gonna keep discussing which colleges we were going to attend. So many options...but at least I have straight As in school. My options should be very open for now. But still...what major should I choose?_

As this young woman's cognitive recognition slowly returned after a peaceful sleep the previous night, the pitter-patter of a child's running footsteps grew louder and louder until they arrived at her bedroom door. Her bedroom door swung open with a bang and the child bounced on her bed and jumped repeatedly.

"Sissy! Sissy! Wake up! It's my birthday! I wanted you to be the first to say it to me!" A little girl's voice squealed happily.

_Oh my...I forgot. How could I forget something so wonderful? It's Yuka's ninth birthday today._

The fatigued girl slowly lifted her eyelids and her eyes were treated to a truly beautiful sight. The small yet vivacious face of Yuka Miyakawa was staring at her big sister with a smile and an expression that only an innocent child could create. Her sparkling crystal eyes, her golden locks, the dimples created by her seemingly permanent smile, and her heartwarming laugh. All of it was the epiphany of everything that revolved around the word purity. With every new life ushered into the world, any loving parent would view their child as a hope for the future and with Yuka's current personality, it was practically a guarantee that planet Earth would be better with her on it.

"Good morning, Yuka. How'd you sleep?" Nagisa Miyakawa asked as she sat up slowly while rubbing her eyes.

"I didn't, big sissy! I was too excited for my birthday and all my presents! I want us to do our song and dance routine we've been practicing! Do you think mommy and daddy will like it?!" Yuka squealed happily.

Nagisa giggled again and replied, "I'm sure they'll love it, baby sis. Now...how old are you again?"

"Oh sissy you know how old I am! I'm turning nine years old today!" Yuka exclaimed happily while still bouncing up and down.

Nagisa's grin widened into a deep smile and she couldn't help but have more fun with her sister. "Nine? Well you know how many birthday kisses that's worth! Come here you!"

The oldest sister hugged her sister tightly and pulled her onto her bed, placed her lips on Yuka's soft navel and blew, tickling her and sending her into a laughing frenzy. The little girl squirmed while kicking her legs and laughing happily until Nagisa hugged Yuka tightly again.

"Happy Birthday, little sis." Nagisa whispered as she hugged the child closely and played with her hair.

"Thanks, sissy." Yuka whispered back with her smile.

"You know I'm grateful everyday that you're my little sis." Nagisa added while she couldn't restrain herself from playing with her sister's hair.

Yuka giggled again and nodded. "Of course I do, sissy. You and I will be best friends forever! Can we open my presents now?"

Nagisa giggled and sat up, which Yuka mimicked as the big sister continued to stretch upward to wake herself up and she yawned, "Are mom and dad up yet?"

"Yeppers!" Yuka squealed again. "And big sissy...could you do my hair the way I like it again?"

Nagisa turned to her again. "You mean with the little pigtails?"

Yuka nodded happily. "Yeah, yeah, yeah! I love it when you do it, sissy!"

"Of course, Yuka." Nagisa said with a wink and Yuka didn't waste anymore time and snatched her sister's hand and pulled her out of her room to lead her down the stairs into the living room.

The two siblings entered the living room and found their two parents drinking coffee in the early morning but it was the celebratory setup around the room that was the true headline of the day. A large banner stating "HAPPY BIRTHDAY YUKA" was hanging above their fireplace and a large bundle of wrapped presents were sitting on a table and they were accompanied by a large cake.

Yuka rushed over to her parents and hugged them both tightly while squealing happily at the sight. She pulled back and exclaimed, "Remember the birthday tradition mommy and daddy?!"

The two parents chuckled at Yuka's childish persona and her father patted her head while replying, "Of course we do, Yuka. Cake and ice cream for breakfast on your birthday. It's a good thing that we decided to get you a vegetable cake this year though."

Yuka's face instantly flustered and she became angry. "No you didn't you liar! That's not funny, daddy!"

Her parents chuckled again at her reaction until her mother stepped in and said, "We're just playing with you, sweetheart. Triple chocolate cake just like you asked."

Yuka's bubbling happiness returned again and her family couldn't restrain the girl from bouncing off the walls with vigorous excitement. Even for a nine year old girl, Yuka was always a beatific child and never showed any signs of childhood issues such as depression or anything else. She was always smiling and always found something to laugh at and find joy in it. Even though her family sometimes wondered why in all of her nine years on Earth that she never felt any unhappiness or sadness, they didn't question it and decided not to rock the boat. They were all just very grateful that they were blessed with a beautiful, happy, healthy child that filled their lives with joy and endless euphoria on a daily basis. Even though Yuka wasn't a planned child, her family wouldn't have it any other way by this point. She was their precious little miracle.

The small party for Yuka was just as she always dreamed. Even though she had friends from school, she always liked her birthday parties to be exclusively with her family, especially her big sister. The rest of the party was simple for her and to Yuka's delight, she was able to do her song and dance routine with Nagisa, which her parents obviously loved. Yuka had a dream of becoming a singer or a dancer but her dreams seemed to change on a daily basis and ranged from singer, to veterinarian, to even an astronaut.

As the family's party was winding down with Yuka playing with her presents, one of which included a face painting set and it leading to her begging Nagisa to paint a sun on her face, a knock came at the front door. As Nagisa put the final touches on the sun on Yuka's face, their father walked to the door and opened it.

"Kenta...what are you doing here?" He asked.

Hearing the familiar name perked Yuka's little ears up and she smiled happily. She stood so quickly that Nagisa nearly messed up the face painting and Yuka quickly rushed over to the door just as happy as ever and looked at the man standing in the doorway.

"Uncle Kenta!" She cried and hugged his legs tightly. "Are you here for my birthday party?!"

This man, her uncle, stood above the young girl with a placid expression on his face but it was what was brewing beneath his exterior and what he was concocting in his brain that made him abnormal. He loved his niece. He loved her deeply. He loved her so much that it had been blurring with a delusional fantasy world for a long time and an idea was swirling within his psyche for awhile now. Kenta Miyakawa always had a history of mental issues and a below average IQ, but regrettably never got proper treatment for them. He was seen as somewhat of a pariah by society and even some of his family for all he was capable of job wise was sorting mail at a postal office, but none of that mattered to Yuka. Everything was beautiful and perfect in her innocent eyes and because of this, she couldn't see the danger she was in by this mentally ill man.

He bent down and hugged his niece tightly as she returned the embrace with innocent enthusiasm. Kenta pulled back gently and said, "I couldn't bear to be away from my favorite niece on her special day. Here's your present."

Yuka's eyes drifted downward and she spotted another wrapped gift and she squealed happily when he gave it to her. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!" She exclaimed and kissed her uncle on his cheek and rushed away to open the gift.

Kenta slowly rubbed his cheek as he watched his niece happily unwrap the gift and hold up a very cute sky blue dress with a dark blue hem and a yellow ribbon on the front with turquoise colored hearts all along the dress. She hugged it and cried happily that she already loved it. Kenta however continued to stare at his niece with eyes that craved something other than her acceptance and appreciation for the gift. He seemed to be hypnotized by this girl. Because of his ailments, he was never able to secure the love of a real woman in his life. Yuka's unrelenting love and innocence for the world she lived in and everyone in it was the only feminine force in his life that he wanted to be as close as possible to. In the back of his mind however, even he had a sinking feeling that these thoughts, desires, and even urges he was having every time he looked at Yuka were wrong.

"I...I...I was wondering if...if Yuka would...would want to...to come to the...the cabin...with me. For the weekend." Kenta stuttered as part of his mental problems.

Yuka's ears perked up again. She quickly turned with an even wider smile on her face and she rushed over to her uncle and father and latched onto both of their hands. "I would love that! Can I go, daddy?! Please?! Can I, pretty, pretty please?! You know how much I love it up there!"

Yuka's father looked at his brother. "That's a nice gesture, Kenta, but why so suddenly?"

Because he was family, everyone was able to overlook his nervous twitches and ticks that would tell the average person that something was amiss. The overall appearance of the man was quite unsettling and even though they noticed it, no one thought it strange when they saw the man begin to sweat and shake as his niece held his hand.

He cleared his throat and added, "I just...I just wanted to...spend more time with...Yuka. I...I had to work...a lot...a lot of overtime recently...to pay rent. But...but...but I would like to...spend my weekend...with her..."

Yuka's father glanced down at Yuka. "Well it's okay with me if it's okay with your mother."

Yuka quickly sprinted to her mother and repeated the same routine by begging and bouncing and her mother caved instantly. When she got her parents' approval to go to the cabin, an idea came to the little girl's mind. She rushed over to Nagisa, who was looking at her uncle with suspicious eyes. Yuka started begging her older sister to accompany them to the cabin as well but Nagisa said that regretfully she couldn't go. As much as she loved spending time with her baby sister, Nagisa was a young woman and also enjoyed the company of people her own age and was looking forward to a date with her boyfriend. She was also anxious for her friend's bachelorette party the next day so despite her mild dislike of her uncle, she believed him safe and gave her support for the trip.

Yuka packed a few things for the weekend getaway and waved goodbye to her family as she sat in her uncle's rusty and dirty sedan. Everything was status quo for the family as they watched their youngest and brightest gem disappear over the hill. A deafening and ear-piercing scream from a little girl echoed across the region, waking Yuka Miyakawa from her dream.

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Yuka Miyakawa's once glistening crystal eyes lifted when she heard her once childish voice screaming like a high-pitched shriek and she found the source right away. A large rat was only inches away from her face and looking for food, squeaking with every step. Miyakawa glared at the rodent, slowly moved behind her back, grabbed her favorite tool, and quickly plummeted it downward. The shining blade of her serpent dagger dove into the rat's head and impaled it, killing it instantly.

The depraved psychopath slowly sat up and looked around her setting. She was resting on a dingy mattress in a large and open sewer near a dark flowing river, which was her new home. The mattress was near a dying fire and to Miyakawa's right were hundreds of wrapped bags of drugs and stacks of cash totaling to millions of yen. She slowly lifted the impaled rat up and observed its dirty and lifeless body.

"Well at least now I know where I'm gonna get breakfast." She growled.

She fed the fire and built it back up again while cleaning her latest meal and jammed a stick through it to hold it over the crackling flames. To wake herself back up from her slumber, Miyakawa took a switchblade knife, cut into a wrapped bag of cocaine and held a bit on the blade. She lifted it back up to her face and inhaled the drugs, which instantly jolted her awake as the meat over the fire kept cooking.

The growing flames illuminated the area she sat in and brought light to the frightening horror show that was her face. Miyakawa's face was covered in dirt and soot from the sewer and her smudged makeup around her eyes only added more of a demonic aura around herself. She was truly monstrous and as usual showed no outward concern for her appearance or where her life was up until this point as she felt mucus build in her throat. She hocked it up and spat it out loudly while scratching herself and watched the fire with a burning frown that when compared to the flames made them seem like glowing icicles.

As she waited for the meal to become well done, the images of her dream reappeared in her mind. She tightened her glare as she rubbed her hands all over her arms to produce more heat and she huffed, "What the fuck brought that kind of dream on? I haven't had a dream like that in years. That fucking family..."

She inhaled a deep breath and sighed loudly as she glared at the fire. Yuka Miyakawa had been on the run ever since her intrusion into the Hiiragi household but would stop by every now and then to make sure her targets were feeling safer in their supposedly impenetrable sanctuaries again. This was all part of her mental game against them. She wanted them to feel safe again and that nothing could touch them but the complete opposite was true. No matter what the Hiiragi family did, she would always find a way inside and do whatever she wanted.

The depraved psychopath also kept her mental torture of Hiyori Tamura alive and well just by simply sitting in the shadows and doing nothing. She would let Hiyori remember their last encounter in her bedroom everyday until the time would be ready for Miyakawa to jump out of the darkness again. The long-haired meganekko had no idea she was a pawn in Miyakawa's chess game to consume Inori Hiiragi into her world of infinite blackness. Miyakawa had access to Hiyori anytime she wanted as well but Hiyori was smart enough to know this as a fact unlike the Hiiragi family who believed that numbers made them superior. They still underestimated Yuka Miyakawa, the one who thrived on cascading through the every nook and cranny to suck the very life from their once vibrant family. This depraved young woman truly was a messenger of death and brought horror with her wherever she went like a blackened cloud hovering in the cold winter's night sky.

Her deranged yet borderline genius mind in the criminal world also made her a deadly force. The plan she was cooking specifically for Inori Hiiragi to the untrained eye seemed like a random ensemble of uncoordinated movements. It involved Kagami Hiiragi, Konata Izumi, and Hiyori Tamura to pull it off but if Miyakawa could succeed in it, the Hiiragi family would then truly know they had met the devil face-to-face.

As Miyakawa concluded her meal was done cooking, she lifted the impaled rodent away from the flames and sank her teeth into the bubbling meat and tore with angry vigor. While sitting alone in the dank sewer and eating the lowest forms of life on the planet to survive, for some reason she couldn't forget about that dream she had. All those events surrounding her ninth birthday were true before her uncle took her deep into the woods and returned her in a much different condition. Still, she could remember feeling something she hadn't felt in many years. When she saw Nagisa's face, she felt her entire frozen corpse of a living body warm up and her heart beat happily.

Miyakawa could still feel her heart beating wildly for her sister, making her place her free hand over her chest and she breathed deeply while expressing a look of shock and uncertainty. "Why...? Why am I feeling so...strange...when I'm thinking about that worthless bitch? I hate her. I hate her so much it makes me want to...it makes me want to..."

She took out her boiling anger on her meal by grabbing another large mouthful of the smoking animal and ripped it off and chewed angrily. Her stare of intense hatred still rivaled the burning flames of the fire that kept her warm as she chewed and mulled over everything in her dark mind. It was very rare for Yuka Miyakawa to have such sentimental dreams about her childhood, even though this one also ended with her former child's voice screaming in fright and pain at the end. As far as her dreams were concerned, this was ironically considered an abnormal dream. The usual pictures and sounds she would hear in her slumber usually involved the blood-curling screams of other people, the pulsing music of a strip club, the moans of intercourse, and the sickening and macabre tidal waves of imagery horror that came with her drug abuse. For her to actually see her sister and herself as they once were in such a close-knit way and to even feel deep emotional reactions manifesting themselves as physical responses was unheard of and bordering on the impossible.

The more Miyakawa thought about her sister, the more it opened different thresholds within her cognitive functions. She started to recall every crime and perversion she was able to accomplish up until now. From the first time she started prostituting herself, from dancing at Teasers since she was fifteen years old, from all the drugs she pushed onto the streets, and how she was rising to the top of being the crime kingpin of the Aku District. It seemed that she was unstoppable and yet...something suddenly began to feel different within her. Her heart felt as if it was constricting, prompting her to cover it again.

"What the fuck is wrong with me?" She hissed with a venom in her words. "I can't pussy out now. I need to keep my plan moving. Kagami will be back soon and from there, Hiyori and the blue-haired one will play their part in my game. I might even decide to kill Nagisa once and for all."

As soon as Miyakawa finished that last part, she felt something fall from her face and it landed at her feet with a small splash. Miyakawa looked at her foot on the moldy cement and to her surprise, a small and perfectly circular drop of water was sitting next to it. She looked at it with curiosity and when she squinted to get a better glimpse of it, another one fell from her face. Miyakawa quickly felt her face and retracted her hand and was stunned to see her hand was covered with water.

"Wh...what...?" She growled and stared at her soaked hand. "I'm...I'm crying...? But...but how...?"

She quickly wiped away the tears from her eyes and became even angrier when they kept coming but only when she thought about her big sister. Was it possible that after more than a decade of defiling and degrading herself and others, the light was beginning to crack through Yuka Miyakawa?

"It...it's this fucking sewer. Yeah, that's what it is, yeah!" She growled loudly. "I need to get some new digs for not only myself, but also for Hiyorin and that blue-haired midget. I'll need them both soon."

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The buzzing of an incessant alarm clock awoke a struggling woman from her sleep and her creaking arm reached for it and was able to shut it off. Nagisa Kishimoto slowly lifted her eyes and saw the green digital clock reading five-thirty in the morning and once again her day was about to start. She slowly sat up and stretched high to get the blood flowing and she slowly lifted herself out of her soft bed, though she was alone. Her husband was pulling a graveyard shift at the hospital he worked at and as soon as he would be getting home, she would be seeing her first client of the day. This depressed her knowing she wouldn't be able to have breakfast with the man that she loved and who in a sense helped rescued her from a life of drug addiction after her little sister was raped.

After she showered and dressed herself professionally once again, Dr. Kishimoto ate her small breakfast in the very spacious kitchen of their large house. Lately she has been avoiding all of the phone calls reaching her home that didn't have to do with her work because she feared that her past demons involving her sister were slowly but surely finding their way home. She had been receiving different phone calls over the past few weeks since the raid on Teasers regarding her sister and her response was usually the same. If her husband picked up the phone and it was a reporter asking to talk to his wife, he would say they had the wrong number and hang up. Still curious by the current events revolving around her community, she turned on the television set in the kitchen and watched the morning news as she ate.

"In local news, repeat offender Yuka Miyakawa is still being sought by police. Miyakawa is wanted for several pending charges, including the abduction and torture of a local Saitama girl, whose identity is being withheld at the request of her family. Miyakawa was once employed as a dancer at the adult club Teasers, which was raided by police a month ago, where it was discovered that Miyakawa was also running a prostitution ring under the building." The reporter informed as Dr. Kishimoto squinted with anguish at the screen. "Miyakawa is also wanted in connection with the recent spike in violent and drug crimes that have plagued the Aku District for the past ten years. The police are asking anyone with leads that could lead to Miyakawa's arrest to come forward and to call them immediately if she is spotted. We'll have more on this story as it develops. Turning now to the five day forecast, summer is still here and so is the enjoyable weather with temperatures expected to-"

Dr. Kishimoto turned the television set off as she couldn't take it anymore. It was only going on seven o'clock in the morning and she already had to fight the urge to start crying. It didn't help that she also had a dream last night about her and her former baby sister. She dreamt that Yuka was turning nine years old again and she was singing and dancing with her sister using a karaoke machine she received for Christmas one year. That toy was her entire world and she remembered how Yuka would always be waiting for her whenever she got home from high school and she would beg Nagisa to sing with her.

The ailing psychologist rubbed her eyes with a sigh as it seemed that no matter what she did to try and curtail her sister's evil, she always seemed to be one step ahead of the game. Yuka's ruthless and sadistic street knowledge was somehow beating out all of the years she spent in school studying the human mind. It still baffled Dr. Kishimoto that her once pure and innocent sister was the one responsible for all the suffering and torture the Hiiragi family was being forced to weather through. This was the same little sister who made Nagisa check under her bed every night for monsters.

When Dr. Kishimoto arrived at her office, she was in for quite a surprise. She didn't expect the Hiiragi family including Tadao, Miki, Tsukasa, and Inori altogether and waiting for her to arrive. None of them were scheduled for an appointment today but what unsettled Dr. Kishimoto the most was when she spotted them in her waiting room and crowding around a copy of the local newspaper. Each person had a different look on their face. Tsukasa was shaking and trembling with fear again while Inori rubbed Tsukasa's shoulders with a stern expression. Miki held her hands over her mouth with a face of disbelief but it was Tadao's expression that disturbed Dr. Kishimoto the most. He was angry.

She opened the glass door of her office building and when the movement caught their attention, the Hiiragi family looked up and they continued to project their faces at her. Clearing her throat, Dr. Kishimoto opened with, "Good morning, Hiiragi family. We don't have an appointment today, do we?"

They were silent at first until Tadao stood and held the newspaper in his grip while the women in his family remained silent. He faced her and replied slowly and seriously, "Good morning, Dr. Kishimoto. We were hoping we could have a word with you."

Dr. Kishimoto looked at him and his family. She could tell that something was on their minds and that it might have something to do with Kagami but had a sinking feeling it had to do with something else. "Um...I have to meet a client in fifteen minutes but I would be happy to schedule in for tomorrow right away."

"This will only take a second." Tadao insisted with bitter sternness and turned the newspaper around to show her the story they were reading. "Care to explain this to us?"

The story's title stated "Miyakawa Still Sought" and it included the mugshot that Yui showed Tsukasa of her. Tadao pointed to one paragraph with his index finger for Dr. Kishimoto to read. She sat her briefcase down and took the ensemble of black and white pages and held them to her face to read silently.

_Unconfirmed reports have stated that Miyakawa has a history of mental illness, which has been credited to being raped by her uncle when she was a child. Miyakawa's older sister, Dr. Nagisa Kishimoto, a local psychologist, could not be reached for comment regarding these accusations._

Dr. Kishimoto gulped bluntly and tried to keep herself composed as she lowered the newspaper away from her face. "What...what would you like to know?"

"Is it true?" Miki quickly asked as she stood. "Is that devil your little sister and you never told us?"

Dr. Kishimoto sighed and nodded, making Tsukasa and Inori gasp. "Yes, it is true. Yuka Miyakawa is my little sister."

A shockwave of not only silence but now it seemed a sudden wedge found themselves amongst the group. The Hiiragi's entrusted their family's entire existence and future in this doctor's hands and they believed that she would help them with their problems. However, they couldn't help but feel betrayed by her in lieu of this shocking revelation. They all knew that Dr. Kishimoto had nothing to do with either Kagami's decline into drugs and prostitution or even Tsukasa's abduction, but one thing was for certain; they could no longer look at her the same way as before ever again. A secret this big hit too close to home for the Hiiragi family.

"Dr. Kishimoto...why didn't you say anything about this before?" Miki asked while trying to conceal her frustration.

"With all due respect, Miki-san, would it have made any difference if I told you?" The doctor became more assertive in defending herself. "You and your family came to me to discuss the nature of Kagami's problems and sought my help in rebuilding your family. I am truly sorry that my sister did what she did to your daughters but what you read in the newspaper was true. My sister was raped when she was nine years old by our mentally challenged uncle."

"She also seduced and coerced Matsuri into having sex with her." Inori snapped angrily. "She filmed it and put the video online just to torture my sister...and you knew about all of this...didn't you? You knew it was your sister the whole time who was doing this to Matsuri, and Kagami, and Tsukasa!"

Dr. Kishimoto sighed again and nodded, only furthering the family's shock. "Yes...I knew the whole time...but in telling you this, I must circle back to my first question. If I told you that it was my sister doing this to Kagami and the others from the beginning, would it have made any difference?"

The Hiiragi family didn't vocalize it but they knew this was a fact. Even if they knew that her sister was the culprit in everything that happened to their family, it still wouldn't have gotten Kagami off drugs or off the streets and they would still be in the same quagmires. Still, they also found Dr. Kishimoto's calmness regarding this issue quite disturbing as well.

"If I may say so, I find it a bit strange that I see no outrage on your part, Dr. Kishimoto." Tadao scolded as he folded his arms across his chest.

"Trust me, I've had my fits, meltdowns, crying episodes, screaming episodes, self-mutilating phase, everything you could imagine after my sister was raped and she turned into this monstrosity." Dr. Kishimoto retorted. "I have no more tears left to shed for my sister and I will celebrate in the streets when the police finally catch her...but have you noticed that it is taking very long for them to find her?"

The Hiiragi family remained silent.

"That's because Yuka always has home field advantage. As long as she dwells within the Aku District, the police will never find her. She knows those streets as if they're embedded in her own flesh." Dr. Kishimoto added, cleared her throat again, and looked at her watch. Knowing her first appointment was nearing, she began to wrap this conversation up. "Look, I understand your frustration and even anger with me, but I cannot apologize to you for something that does not merit an apology. I am not my sister and my private life is irrelevant to your family's recovery. I still want to be a part of your family's recovery if you'll allow me. If you would like to schedule an appointment with me now I'd be happy to add you now."

Left speechless by the seemingly delicate psychologist's assertive side regarding this issue, they didn't know what to do. They knew that she was still the same person underneath but it was now a matter of her personal life getting too close to the Hiiragi family. They knew they wouldn't be able to look at her as a professional anymore considering that it was her little sister that deceived and had sexual intercourse with two of their daughters, including getting one addicted to drugs and turning her into a prostitute and stripper. As hard as it was for them considering how positive their experience with her was up until now, Tadao and Miki Hiiragi read each other's signals and they concluded that a change must be in order.

"I'm sorry, Dr. Kishimoto, but I believe it would be for the best if we found another doctor." Miki stepped forth. "We're sorry for wasting your time like this and thank you for your help up until now, but I think we should chop this up to a situation that just didn't work out."

Dr. Kishimoto remained complacent on the outside, which was a stunning performance considering how hurt she was. Regardless, she respected their decision and bowed to them one final time before they exited her office building. When the Hiiragi family left, she sighed again and shook her head as it seemed that once again her sister was able to strike again. She still had other clients waiting for her today though that depended on her too so she had no choice but to continue performing her job to the best of her ability.

**A/N: I kind of needed to add this chapter revolving around the two sisters for the future. It's a sign of trouble brewing so stay tuned for Kagami's update next chapter.**


	45. Chapter 45

CHAPTER 44

It simply didn't make any sense to them. It was a common fact that life was full of twists and turns and had a reputation for being unfair from time to time, but it never ceased to amaze the people of Junichi's neighborhood just how cruelly unfair it could be. Kagami was doing everything right. She truly saw the error of her ways and was coming around. She was able to get clean with Junichi's help, her health was restored, and she wanted to make the best out of a bad situation as she put it once. She even had new plans for her life as she wanted to spend it with the man that was able to look past all the crimes she had committed and see the jewel that was her entire essence buried under so much debris. Despite Kagami's sincere and newfound positive outlook on her existence, fate didn't care too much for her plans as it always had plans of its own. No one could explain why she lost her baby.

Five days had passed since her tragic miscarriage that took her growing baby away from her and what was left was nothing short of ominous. Kagami had physically recovered from the ordeal, but mentally speaking left a lot to be speculated. For five days, Junichi stayed by her bedside and didn't leave her one time. He had taken her back to his home and tried to help her recover but it seemed the eye of Kagami's storm was passing and the skies were darkening once again. For five days, Kagami didn't say one word as she stayed curled on his bed and cried endlessly. Little did Junichi know that this was exactly how Kagami's first collapse started after the death of Matsuri; with complete and utter silence from the twin-tailed girl. It was like the calm before the storm.

By the fifth day, Junichi was growing a pattern of facial stubble and felt woozy as he barely slept for the lengthy period. For five days and nights, he let Kagami rest in his bed while he sat in another chair and made it his slumber spot so he could keep an eye on her. He tried to get her to eat and drink but it was no use. It was clear that she had closed herself to the entire world and had locked herself within her own prison. It seemed that nothing would be able to snap Kagami out of this devastating ordeal that she was once again forced to endure.

Not even a visit from her favorite guest, Mina-chan, was enough to perk Kagami's spirits. If anything, it only made her more depressed. Kagami wanted to be a mother and she wanted her child to come out just like Mina; full of life, health, and happiness. Seeing the girl before her and knowing that she would never be able to create one of her own was gutting Kagami every second of everyday since her miscarriage. The rest of the neighborhood also sent their own assortment of gifts to Kagami but just like Mina-chan's visit, they all went on deaf ears and numbed senses. Kagami's only movements consisted of her eyes whenever she would move them when she was awake or when water was running out of them.

Regardless, Junichi stayed with Kagami. As he watched her in the mid-morning hours, he felt himself slowly nodding off to sleep. Just as he was about to fall asleep in his chair again, he heard the covers on his bed shift and bones creak over the chirping birds outside his window. He raised his eyelids and saw Kagami slowly stirring for the first time in five days with her back still facing him. She started stretching her limbs and he could hear her whimper as he stood and kneeled next to the bed.

"Kagami?" He asked gently.

Kagami stopped moving and slowly turned her head, revealing her face that projected a painting of a thousand broken emotions. Her face was flushed red, her eyes were swollen and wet, her lips quivered, and she trembled occasionally. Seeing his face seemed to make her more emotionally distraught as she started panting and crying again.

"You...you...you're still...here..." she wheezed as more tears escaped her eyes.

He outstretched his hand and placed it near her. "I never left. I love you, Kagami, and I'm always going to be here for you."

More tears dripped from her eyes when she squinted and sniffed. "But...but...why...?"

Junichi continued to stare at her lovingly. "Because you're my girl. That's why."

Feeling as low as she ever felt in her life, Kagami slowly turned her body around and faced Junichi as she wept. She latched onto his hand and pulled him weakly until he got the message. He slowly sat on the bed and scooted over to her and collected the broken young woman in his arms and held her as she cried. She started wailing again as she buried her face into his shirt and held onto him as if he was her life preserver. He held her across her back with his left arm and cuddled her head closer to him while he rocked her and kissed her head gently.

In the midst of her wails of sorrow, Kagami stopped long enough to utter something that made Junichi's heart skip a beat. "I'm...sorry I lost...our...baby..."

He thought he misheard her at first but he heard correctly. Kagami said "our baby," as if she viewed him as the biological father the whole time. As much as it touched his heart, it also hurt deeply because he felt Kagami's pain. He wanted that baby to be his as well and he felt cheated by life, but he still knew that no matter how much he thought his pain was unbearable, it was even more so for Kagami since she had to endure it all. She had to endure the prostitution, the diseases, the constant uncertainties, and ultimately, the tragic results. Still, she wanted to go for it and believe in a miracle, which made Junichi cradle her even tighter.

The young man hushed her affectionately as she continued to sob and he whispered, "There, there, this wasn't your fault. This is just something that happens. None of us could've seen it coming."

Kagami slowly shook her head. "No...I should have. The nurse...the nurse...she knew. She knew this would happen. I...I didn't want to listen. I wanted a miracle..."

Junichi shook his head. "Like I said, this wasn't your fault. You didn't do this to the baby."

After Junichi added this, more silence found them with the only exception being Kagami's quiet sobbing. Kagami slowly looked up at him again and whispered, "Did...did it...did it feel...pain...?"

"What?"

"My baby. I...I always hear things about...this kind of thing...but I...I don't know." Kagami whimpered.

Kagami was asking Junichi very hard questions he couldn't possibly answer. The only thing he could think of doing was comforting his girlfriend by pulling her as close as he could and reply, "No, Kagami. I'm sure it didn't feel a thing."

The twin-tailed Hiiragi sniffed again and asked a question that made Junichi cringe. It was barely audible but he heard her utter, "Does...does this mean that I'm...that I'm...infertile...?"

Somehow Junichi was able to keep himself from gulping. He was able to credit that to having Kagami pressing up against his body and she would've felt and heard it and his answer would've been clear to her. He knew how much becoming a mother meant to her and know it was evident that that was never going to happen in her life. Junichi believed it was the STDs that triggered the miscarriage and they would be with Kagami forever. She couldn't have unprotected intercourse anymore and even if she went all-out and went through an artificial process, there was no guarantee this wouldn't happen again.

Regardless, he answered her by saying, "I can't answer that honestly, Kagami. What happened here was tragic but it doesn't have to be the end of you. You know, Mama Sanae keeps telling me that Mina-chan has been asking about you and she's wondering when you two are gonna play again. You're surrounded by people who love you, Kagami. I'm one of them. Do you want to at least take a walk with me? It's a beautiful summer day outside."

Kagami was silent until she slowly looked up at him again. Her soaked eyes looked around the room slowly until they found their way back to his and she nodded once. She requested some alone time to pull her appearance together so after she took a shower and cleaned herself up with some fresh clothes, Junichi led her out of his house with their hands connected.

Just as he said, the day was beautiful with a perfect blue sky and no clouds anywhere in sight with the sun's warm rays keeping the vibrant existence of summer alive. Grass was a perfect shade of green, colorful birds were hopping from tree to tree singing their hearts out, and activity around the neighborhood continued without missing a beat. It was hard to believe that a tumultuous storm arrived over the region five days ago that brought both bad weather and heartbreak to the neighborhood when compared to the setting Kagami was witnessing. The storm however never left Kagami's mind.

Junichi led her down the street, their hands still connected but Junichi was still worried as he held Kagami's clammy hand. She was still unresponsive to all his words of comfort but he didn't know how to give up on her. He led her to Mina-chan's favorite spot on the grassy hill under the tree that overlooked the vast field, only to be met with the same response. Kagami sat down with him but her eyes resembled two burned out coals as she stared forward at the quaint landscape. Even when she felt her boyfriend's arm gently wrap around her shoulder and pull her close, she still felt cold.

"I know how upset you are, Kagami, but I'm here for you." He whispered. "Losing a child is one of the most painful things you'll ever have to endure, but hope is still alive. The children of this neighborhood love you, especially Mina-chan. In Mina-chan's eyes, you're not like a big sister. You're like a second mother to her and I already spoke to Taeko-sama about Mina-chan and she wants you to be her godmother. Mina-chan isn't the only child who wants you in their lives."

Kagami lowered her head and sighed. Replying in a voice as cold and lifeless as her essence, "Thank you for that...but I'm afraid that it won't mend the hole in my heart. This is a punishment for all my sins. My child, my miracle, was created under insalubrious conditions...and yet it was taken away from me when I was trying to rekindle everything. Why does life have to be so cruel?"

Junichi pulled her closer. "I wish I knew why, sweetheart. Life is one of the most beautiful, scariest, and cruelest things altogether...but I want you to remember something. I want you to know that no matter how scary it can be, I'll always be here for you."

Kagami slowly pulled away from him and looked up into his eyes. Her eyes were filling with tears again and she sniffed while replying, "...Why...why are you so good to me...?"

"I told you before. You're my girl. I love you." He replied softly.

"But why? Why do you love me?" She replied again, still revealing traces of emotional brokenness in her voice.

Junichi's eyes darted until he could stare at her again. "It's what I see in you every time I look at you that always confirms for me that I love you. Whenever I look at you, I see everything that I strive to be for myself. I see strength that cannot be measured by anything, a moral compass that no valued commodity in this world could ever corrupt, and a love capability that is only comparable to godlike. When I built this neighborhood, everyone said I was a hero for building such a place for the homeless and abused...but I always knew I was no hero or even a role model. When I met you, I knew I wanted you to stay...because every time I was near you...I knew exactly who I wanted to be...because you are my hero and role model, Kagami. That's why I'm in love with you."

The water seeping from Kagami's eyes deepened and her lips started quivering. She quickly turned her head and covered her face with her hands and cried, "But...but how could you see such beauty...in a baby killer?"

Junichi's actions were swift and the vigor in them shocked Kagami when he quickly grabbed onto her arms with his strong hands and held her tightly. She looked at him again and this was the first time she ever saw an angry face on him, but he knew how to make one. His frown was burning so brightly that Kagami could almost see the smoke.

"What did you just say?!" He exclaimed angrily. Kagami remained silent with crying eyes so he added more. "I don't want to hear you say something like that ever again! That's something that only Yuka Miyakawa would say and I don't want anything like that near this place! You are not a baby killer, Kagami! Do you understand me?!"

Kagami gulped and her eyes went wider when she heard the second to last sentence. Hearing that what she just said was something that only Miyakawa could concoct in her mind sent chills throughout Kagami's body and her core temperature dropped. A distant memory flashed in her mind of when she was in Dr. Kishimoto's office for her one and only formal appointment. Dr. Kishimoto's warning echoed in Kagami's head before she divulged the story of Yuka Miyakawa's rape to Kagami.

"_If you keep going the way you are...one day you will be the next Yuka Miyakawa and Tsukasa will be in my position."_

Had Kagami finally reached this abyss of no return? With the death of her baby, Kagami truly and honestly felt any remnants or hopes of rekindling herself to her old ways die and she felt numb inside. Kagami was now afraid to look in a mirror for genuine fear of seeing the face of Yuka Miyakawa. As she saw this as a dire probability, she nonetheless nodded and replied to Junichi, "Yes...I understand. I'm sorry..."

Junichi abruptly released her and gently rubbed her shoulders again before pulling her close into a hug. He hugged Kagami's motionless body and breathed in her natural fragrance until she slowly lifted her skinnier arms compared to his and wrapped them around his wide and chiseled back. Despite how horrible she still felt about losing her child, Kagami always knew she was safe in his grip.

However, her brain was still torn between Junichi's words about how he felt about her and Dr. Kishimoto's words. Was she everything her boyfriend strived to be, or had she lost the last of her senses? For Kagami, she believed she only had one final option to see once and for all. She wanted to feel warm and loved again...but in a much different way than her family could give her.

She slowly hoisted herself towards Junichi's ears and whispered, "I want to feel love again."

Junichi nodded. "We'll go see Mina-chan and the others right away. This way."

As Junichi started to stand, Kagami pulled him back down, confusing him. She slowly shook her head while wiping her eyes and said, "That's not what I meant."

"Well then what can I do for you?"

Kagami still held her depressed expression but a light blush formed across her face. She lifted herself higher to his ear again and whispered something else to him, triggering a reaction that involved his eyes going big and his throat bouncing from his gulp. He looked down at her again and replied with a stutter, "Wh...what was that?"

"You heard me, Junichi."

"Are...are you...sure you want that?" He replied, still surprised by her request.

Kagami nodded while collecting his thicker hands in hers and held them. "You've done so much for me and you have given me something that I've always wanted. I've always wanted to know what it felt like to be in love. Now please...show me how one more thing feels."

"If that's what you want, Kagami."

She nodded again. "It is. Make love to me, Junichi. Warm my cold body again."

Junichi led Kagami back to his home, both of their hearts pounding every step of the way. Kagami had had sex before, but with every single fiber of truth about Yuka Miyakawa was in the open for Kagami to see and she knew everything she did before meant nothing to her. As she confided in Tsukasa before in the weeks prior to her graduation, Kagami not only was scared of going to college, she also wanted to have love in her life and to know what it felt like to be in love with someone. Miyakawa promised her this, but it was all a lie. Junichi however was different. He treated Kagami with the respect and dignity that she deserved and Kagami fell in love with him. Now he was about to fulfill her wish.

He rested his body gently on top of Kagami as she rested on his bed while breathing deeply but slowly with her head on the pillow. They stared into each other's eyes, almost hypnotized by the other and what they saw and treasured in their partner. It was a peaceful silence for them as they breathed with nervousness until Junichi started it simply by gently kissing Kagami on her lips, which she reciprocated by kissing back until he pulled away and planted his lips on her neck while he cupped her cheek. Kagami moaned quietly to vocalize her deep fright over this new sensation.

Almost instinctively, Kagami pulled Junichi's free hand over and placed it on her breast and he gently massaged it, making her wince in fear again as he looked back at her. "Are you okay, Kagami?" He whispered gently.

She gulped and replied, "Junichi...I'll say no...if I don't want to do something."

He nodded and resumed kissing her neck as she kept breathing deeply from the touches. The two partners undressed the other slowly and Junichi rested back on top of Kagami again with a sheet covering them. He whispered, "Are you ready?"

She breathed out again and nodded once while burning red and Junichi lowered his hips. Feeling the intrusion, Kagami gulped and gasped loudly as Junichi completely rested on top of her while minding his weight on her.

"Please...do it gently." She whispered before she kissed him again and he repeated the lower movements slowly for her, which made her moan deeper when she broke the kiss. "Junichi...it feels good...I feel you, Junichi..."

Their act of their love ended with another kiss and Kagami cuddled on top of him when he rested below her. Junichi pulled her close again and rubbed her long hair as she rested on his chest and they both breathed deeply. Nothing more was said between them as Junichi's hand maneuvered through her long hair and Kagami could feel and hear his heart beating while she rested her head on his chest. Because of the twin-tailed girl's still existent emotional distraught over her lost child, she lost the remainder of her energy during her intimacy with Junichi and soon fell asleep next to him.

As she rested next to him, Junichi still couldn't take his eyes off the girl he loved as she slept under the sheets of his bed. He knew it was going to be a long road to recovery and it would take a lot of time and patience on his part until Kagami would return to her pre-graduation self, but he was more than ready to tackle the challenge. He decided there was a place he needed to go and he slowly pulled himself out of bed and redressed himself quietly while Kagami slept. When he was ready to go, he bent over the bed to Kagami and kissed her lightly on her cheek again and quietly tiptoed out of his room.

When he gently closed the door, Kagami slowly lifted her eyes and glanced to make sure he was gone. When it was clear he was, she sighed with depression again and slowly sat up, keeping the sheets covering her bare chest. Her eyes filled with tears again as she had a plan for herself in mind that she knew was going to hurt him and everyone in the neighborhood, but she believed it was for the best. Dr. Kishimoto's words of her turning into the next Yuka Miyakawa really sank in.

"Junichi...thank you for everything. I love you...but I don't deserve any of this. There's only one place left for me now." She whispered to herself while mopping her tears.

As Junichi approached his black Ducati 1000DS bike, one of his armed henchmen approached him. Junichi instructed, "When Kagami wakes up, make sure she gets whatever she asks for and then some. If she asks for a turkey sandwich, make sure she gets an entire Thanksgiving dinner. I need to go out for a bit."

"Where are you going, boss?" He asked.

Junichi started the bike and sighed. "I need to go pay my respects to someone."

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"Happy Anniversary, mom and dad!" Tsukasa and Inori happily exclaimed as they rounded the corner in their house to find their parents sitting in the living room.

Tadao looked up from his newspaper while Miki put down her book and they both showed surprised expressions on their faces. Their oldest and youngest daughters rushed in with each person holding a unique item. Inori held a small cake with a burning novelty candle on it that was the number 25 while Tsukasa brought in an article wrapped up like a present.

"Oh my, what do we have here?" Miki asked as she put her book on the floor and her face lit up.

"Well, this _is_ quite a surprise." Tadao added with a smile while folding his newspaper and placing it aside.

Inori and Tsukasa placed their items on the family coffee table. Tsukasa opened with, "Sis and I were out shopping last week and we wanted to get you guys something special for your anniversary. It's a thanks for all the love and support you've given us and how much you've inspired us in this very trying ordeal."

Tadao and Miki looked at each other and laughed lightly while Tadao cleared his throat. "Why thank you, girls, but you didn't have to get us anything. Just being with you two is all the gift we need."

Inori and Tsukasa giggled together since they both bet each other their father would say that. Regardless, Inori scooted closer and added, "Either way, we wanted to get you something extra special. Please, open the present, mom."

Miki smiled and took the gift and pulled the thin paper off the item. When she held the gift in her hand, her day went from uplifting and touching to a full-blown explosion of emotional turbulence. She held the pewter plate in her hands with her and Tadao's face engraved in it and she felt her eyes flood when she read the poem on the plate. It closely resembled one of her heirlooms that was stolen by Kagami and the tears started falling.

"Oh girls..." she uttered as she wiped an eye. "It...it's beautiful. How did...when did...how did you come up with this?"

Inori giggled. "It was actually Tsukasa's idea and she wrote that poem herself."

Miki turned to her youngest child and sniffed again. She stood and quickly hugged Tsukasa as she wept. "Thank you, honey. This means so much to me."

Tsukasa was also brought to tears by her mother's actions and how deeply touched she was by the gift. She wasted no time in hugging her mother back and accepted her thanks with a smile while Inori cut the small cake and distributed the slices to the family. Though Tadao and Miki were simple people and weren't planning anything special for their twenty-fifth anniversary, Miki thought of something she wanted to do.

She was so deeply touched by her daughters' gift that it made her desire a trip to a familiar cemetery where one of her other children was resting. Miki and Tadao wanted to include their fallen daughter in with the special day. The family made their way to the cemetery on the beautiful summer day and as soon as they saw the rows of headstones lining the vast grassy meadow, it instantly became too much. Miki and her two daughters dabbed their eyes with handkerchiefs as Tadao stopped the car behind a black Ducati 1000DS sport bike. They barely noticed the vehicle since it was a public setting and they started to ascend a grassy mound that would overlook more headstones until they would eventually find the grave of Matsuri Hiiragi.

The fractured but healing family made it to the top of the grassy mound and when they gazed downward at the cemetery, they saw one single individual standing up from a headstone after placing a bouquet of flowers on it. He appeared to be just another guest in the cemetery, though the Hiiragi family had a feeling this would be an awkward encounter since he appeared to be standing very close to the spot where Matsuri was buried. As they got closer though, they became suspicious as they could now see that this young man dressed in black leather was standing above Matsuri's grave and staring at her headstone.

"Excuse me but can we help you?" Tadao stepped forward with suspicion as his family stayed behind.

The young man turned to them and they recognized each other. Tadao Hiiragi stood before the towering Junichi Orihara. The younger man quickly stood tall for the older gentleman and gulped slightly.

"Orihara..." Tadao stated with confusion.

"Hiiragi-sama," Junichi replied and bowed while adding, "It is a pleasure to see you again, sir."

Tadao wasn't expecting to see this young man not only because he hadn't seen him in months, but he especially didn't expect to meet him in the cemetery above the grave of his middle child. He stared at him for a moment until he stuttered, "Uh...what are you doing here, son?"

"I came to pay my respects to your daughter, sir." Junichi replied.

Tadao tilted his head while his family stepped closer with curiosity. "Well, uh, thank you for that. Um...my family is here today with me."

Miki stepped forward while Tadao turned to his family.

"Everyone, I would like you to meet this young man." Tadao said as Junichi took a step forward as he towered over the women in his family. "His name is Orihara Junichi."

"It's such a pleasure to finally meet you." Junichi stated as he bowed again.

"Orihara? That was my name before I married my husband." Miki said with a smile.

Junichi smiled. "Then I must say that it is an honor to share the name with you, ma'am."

Miki deepened her smile and turned to her husband. "He's a very polite young man. How long have you been keeping him a secret from us?"

Tadao scratched his head. "He...he's actually a man who came by the shrine a few times in the past seeking advice."

"And today I was actually seeking advice from...your late daughter." Junichi added, gaining perplexed looks from the Hiiragi family.

Unlike the rest of the family, Tadao knew all the details involving Junichi and that he was involved in criminal activity though was hoping to reform his ways. Even though he appreciated the show of respect for Matsuri coming from the young man, he still didn't fully trust having him near the rest of his family. He knew he was involved in the drug trade and that Kagami was a drug addict, though a lot more had to be discovered on the Hiiragi's part regarding their troubled daughter. Still, they were curious as to why this young man was seeking answers from Matsuri's resting place.

"What are you seeking, dear?" Miki asked.

"It...it's actually about...Kagami." Junichi blurted out.

The cemetery, which was usually a quiet place to start with, somehow became quieter upon Junichi mentioning Kagami's name. With the ominous silence came the realization that Junichi was about to become not only an important part of the Hiiragi family's existence, but he could also prove to be a pivotal one. All Junichi would add on the matter was that he wanted to talk to the family about a few things regarding Kagami. What sealed the deal for Miki though was when he walked them back to their car and he told them he had something for the Hiiragi housewife. He went to his bike and opened up the storage box on the backseat and presented them with the same family heirlooms he retrieved and gave back to Kagami initially. Miki demanded he come back to her home on the spot with teary eyes.

Junichi followed them back to their property and was invited in warmly by them. He sat on his knees though still towered above everyone else as Inori brought in a cup of tea for him and the rest of the family joined him. He took a sip of the tea and when he sat the cup back down, he first gave comforting words by telling them Kagami was safe, but also had to bring them up to speed on a few rather devastating revelations.

Miki removed her hands from her crying face and replied, "So...so you...you're telling me that...my Kagami...was pregnant?"

Junichi nodded with remorse. "She was...but lost the baby five days ago like I said."

"And we threw her out of the house." Tadao was ashamed to admit the decision he and his wife made.

Junichi shook his head. "You didn't know. To be honest, when I met her a month ago, she just found out that same day. I took her in and I've been taking care of her since then. I think you'll also want to know that she's been wanting to return here for quite some time to tell you she's in good health."

"Then why didn't she?" Inori asked as Tsukasa remained silent through the whole ordeal.

"She's been reluctant to tell you about her pregnancy." Junichi answered for her. "She's also been wanting to return the family heirlooms but in lieu of her miscarriage, she couldn't. I hope you understand."

The family nodded.

"Tell me, Junichi-san, what is your interest in my daughter?" Tadao abruptly asked, catching the attention of everyone. Tsukasa even interpreted it differently and she believed her father thought that Junichi and Kagami were a couple.

Junichi stared at him and replied confidently, "I took her in as a victim fleeing Yuka Miyakawa. I should explain that my...gang...and I have been feuding with her and her influence in the streets for a long time now. As you know, sir, I have been in the drug business for awhile, but I've been trying so hard to get out of it, but if I do, Yuka Miyakawa will have no more challenges to her on her level. The police are no threat to her and these kinds of venues can only be won by more criminals like me."

Tadao squinted at the young man. He turned his attention to the rest of his family and ordered, "Leave us alone for awhile, please."

Miki shared her husbands views on criminals and especially drug abuse considering the hell Kagami had forced herself and her family through so she could practically read his mind on this matter. He wanted his two daughters away from this young man for fear of what he might be forced to reveal considering Kagami and his relationship with her. Tsukasa and Inori obeyed their mother when she instructed them to follow her out of the living room and they gave the two men their privacy.

When they were alone, Tadao cleared his throat again. "I first wish to thank you for looking after my daughter and helping her...but that wasn't what I meant initially when I asked you what your interest in my Kagami is."

Junichi stared at his host until he sighed and nodded. "I must say that that was a rather astute observation, sir, something I would expect from the father of Kagami Hiiragi."

He nodded. "Like you said, I am a father and I know when someone is thinking something deeper regarding my daughter."

Clearing his throat in an attempt to create a new speech and to also buy more time, Junichi finally opened with a bold statement. "I'm in love with your daughter, sir."

Tadao sat and stared but allowed Junichi to continue.

"When I first met her, I thought she was still with Yuka Miyakawa. But when she told me who she was, I knew right away that I wanted to get to know her better. I knew that she was special right away since she's your daughter after all." Junichi confessed. "The more I talked to her and the longer she stayed with me, the more it confirmed for me that I was right. She is a deep, fascinating, caring, and beautiful person, both inside and out. Despite all that she has done, I still love her and I know that she was brainwashed and manipulated by that psychopath, Miyakawa. I gave Kagami plenty of opportunities to go home over the past month, but she always turned them down. In retrospect, I'm glad she did...but I also must confess that I see a problem with that as well, sir."

"And what is that problem, son?" Tadao asked.

"The problem is that I want Kagami to return home to you." He added, making Tadao lean closer towards him. "As much as I love her, I believe that she should be with her family again. I wouldn't be able to keep my clean conscience if she stayed with me for I feel that I would be keeping her away from you. Regrettably, I cannot even count anymore how many guys in my spot have taken advantage of a situation like Kagami's and practically made young women in her spot their prisoners. I know that one of her biggest desires is to be in love, but as much as I want to give that to her, I don't believe that I am the best for her. She should be setting her sights on someone who is actually valued by society."

Tadao scratched his chin and leaned back slightly. "I appreciate the fact that you believe that Kagami should always be aiming high, and believe it or not, this isn't the first conversation I've had about Kagami desiring a love life or something else. We've been seeing a family therapist recently and she believes that Kagami may have a mild form of Dependent Personality Disorder. I remember her telling us that in our very first session with her. Kagami wants to succeed in life in all realms whether it's as high as a career or average as a love life and when she falls short of something, she becomes an emotional wreck so she needs constant validation. We never had this problem with her until Matsuri died. We could never convince her that she wasn't responsible for either Matsuri's or Kusakabe's deaths...but once she got the idea in her head that she was to blame, that was it. There was no going back after that."

"I see..."

"But to get back on a rather important subject, I really do appreciate what you did for my wife with her heirlooms and your gesture for Matsuri at the cemetery...but you know my feelings on how you're conducting your life, Junichi." Tadao sternly established. "I know that you and my daughter are both adults and I hold little to no sway in her life anymore, but I would be remiss if I didn't also establish that I do not approve of you dating my daughter. I also wish to express to you that despite your real efforts to reform your drug business, I know you're only going to replace it with another commodity that is also illegal. Am I correct in this assertion?"

"You are, sir." Junichi replied with confidence. "I may be a criminal, but I would like to believe that I have some form of honest dignity within me. You were able to show me that, sir."

"I'm flattered, but regardless, I would be very grateful if you would return Kagami home to us." Tadao sharply retorted. "I'm retracting my disownment of her and I'm going to get her the help she needs. This madness must stop now and when she's home, I will request that you not see her or speak to her. She needs to recover from this criminal lifestyle she has been forced into from the start."

Junichi nodded. "I agree, and I will leave here and come back with Kagami, but with all due respect, sir, you must be crazy if you believe that I will disappear from Kagami's life completely."

Tadao squinted at him.

"Sir...you know how much I respect you and all, but you said it yourself. Kagami is an adult just like me and can see whoever she chooses, even if I too agree that she could do better than me. That being said, I still want to remain a part of her life. I want to be an additional wing of support for her and I want her to know that I'll always love her." Junichi replied with unyielding confidence. "I do agree that her being home with her family is the best medication for her, but I must stand up for myself and be mindful that I did a lot of hard work to get her close to her old self again. When she fully recovers though and if she still chooses to be in a relationship with me, then we will see each other with or without your approval. I will be there to say I love you to her everyday. I will be there to take her on dates. I will be there to buy her gifts on her birthday or just because I felt like it and, as I said before, with all due respect, you have no right to order me otherwise. In lieu of her miscarriage however, she needs to be here and she needs to know that you especially still love her. She's in a very fragile state of mind right now."

"I can tell you have spirit and a true heart, son." Tadao observed as he had to admit to himself that he was impressed by Junichi's unyielding character in front of him. He remembered when Inori brought a boy home once and the boy was very intimidated and Miki and Tadao were able to play with his mind but Junichi was different as Tadao added more. "Tell me, what is it specifically about Kagami that makes you bold enough to tell me to my face that you love her and that you will not respect my request for you to stay away from her?"

The young man made an even bolder move by taking a deeper sip of the tea Miki brought to him and when he sat the cup down, he revealed his true feelings.

"I love Kagami because she is the truest definition of life itself. She is an endless kaleidoscope and aurora of everything that is pure and even perfect when it comes to the human race. That neighborhood I built with the rest of society's outcasts was motivated because of people like Kagami. The kind of people and especially the kind of women that know only how to be strong and how to fight despite the hardships they're forced to weather. I never had a family or any friends until I met you and built that place, so you can imagine that having someone like Kagami by my side was always a mere dream...until she arrived. I never knew how truly empty and hollow I was inside until I met her. Her simple presence and being able to simply sit in the embrace of her shadow gives someone like me hope. Hope that maybe there is more to myself than even I give myself credit for...because she is there and believes so as well. Even when that neighborhood was complete and I was hailed as a hero for rescuing so many broken and battered people and children, I still felt empty inside. I'm a human, just like Kagami is, so I have the same desires as she does. I wanted a girlfriend and to be loved in that way by someone but I never thought it would be possible. Kagami is my inspiration. Kagami is my dream of a better life. Kagami to me is the epiphany of humanity and righteousness and when she opened her heart to me, it made my hope a reality. I believe that with her in my life, no matter how close, I can do right by her and you, sir. That's how I feel about your daughter."

Left borderline speechless, Tadao's only response was to scratch his chin in silence. He continued to measure up every square inch of the man who claimed feelings for his daughter and despite the deep words, he still trusted his fatherly instincts. He still disapproved of Junichi and believed that Kagami being in a romantic relationship with him would only do more harm than good. He still maintained his dignity and requested him to leave his home and bring Kagami home immediately, which Junichi also accepted and obeyed with his own dignity, which included wishing Tadao and Miki a happy anniversary with a real smile.

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As the hours wore on in the day, Junichi eventually returned to his home in the neighborhood and stopped his bike in front of his house. He entered the small structure and found it unsettlingly quiet. He knew that Kagami was still depressed about her miscarriage but still expected to see more activity from her today. Junichi assumed that she was still asleep and he slowly walked to his bedroom door.

He gently knocked and slowly opened it and walked into another surprising setup. His bed was absent of Kagami and it was also neatly made. To add more mystery to what was happening, he spotted a small folded piece of paper sitting in the middle of his bed. Junichi placed his helmet on the floor and approached the paper, collected it, and sat down on the bed when he opened it. It was a small note from Kagami.

"Thank you for everything, especially our last memory together. I never knew making love could feel so wonderful. I love you, but I can't be the woman you deserve because I was Kagami Hiiragi...but not anymore. I'll never forget you." Junichi read and his sharp mind instantly flashed back to an earlier statement Tadao said to him.

_"We could never convince her that she wasn't responsible for either Matsuri's or Kusakabe's deaths...but once she got the idea in her head that she was to blame, that was it. There was no going back after that."_

Another recent memory flashed in Junichi's mind while he sat with Kagami under the tree before they slept together. It was Kagami's icy words he remembered.

_"But...but how could you see such beauty...in a baby killer?" _

"Oh fuck me!" Junichi screamed and shot up from his seat and dashed out the door.

He swooped into the neighborhood and found two of his armed henchmen walking around the street and he called them over.

"What is it, boss?" One of them asked while mimicking his panic.

"Have you seen Kagami?!" He exclaimed.

He shook his head no.

"Have you seen Kagami?!" He asked the second henchman.

"Not since she was with you earlier, boss." He replied.

Junichi looked around at a group of people looking at the scene. "Has anyone seen Kagami?!" He yelled.

The small group of people looked at each other and around until a small child stepped forward. It was Mina-chan and she approached Junichi and said, "I have, Junichi-kun."

Junichi bent down to her and remained calm for the child's sake. "That's very good, Mina-chan, now please tell me. Did she say anything to you?"

She nodded. "Yes she did. She bent down to me, hugged me, and told me to be a good girl but more importantly to be a strong one and to not make the mistakes she did. Then she kissed my head and told me she had to go for a long walk. What kind of mistakes did Kagami-onee-san make, Junichi-kun?"

It took all of his strength to remain calm as he knew what Kagami meant when she said this. He replied, "That's not important, Mina-chan. Thank you for telling me and Kagami is right; you are a very good girl."

Mina giggled with embarrassment as Junichi turned and dashed for his bike and his two henchmen pursued him as they thought the neighborhood may be in danger. One of them caught up to him and exclaimed, "Boss, what's going on?!"

"Kagami's gone back to the Aku District!" He replied quickly. "I have to find her before Miyakawa does!"

"What?! Why would she do that?!" The second one added as Junichi hopped on his bike.

He fired up the engine and retorted as he fixed his helmet over his head. "She blames herself for her miscarriage! The only way she knows how to deal with the guilt is with drugs! I have to stop her after she just got clean!"

Junichi was about to speed away until his first henchman asked, "You need backup?"

He shook his head. "Kagami is my girl. Only I am allowed to rescue her."

Junichi gave his bike full throttle and he took off down the street with the dirtiest and decrepit district in all of Saitama as his target.


	46. Chapter 46

CHAPTER 45

Her heart-to-heart talk with her cousin did wonders for her. Konata Izumi had been feeling much better about herself in the days following her dialogue with Yutaka Kobayakawa. Konata had since given up all her searches for Kagami dressed as a prostitute in the Aku District and began to cope with the fact that she may never see her again. What made the situation even more uplifting for Konata was the fact that she finally revealed one of her deepest secrets. Konata was in love with Kagami. It wasn't even revealing the secret that lifted the weight off her shoulders, but rather the fact that Yutaka accepted it without a second thought.

Konata was always eccentric and had a wild side that couldn't be mirrored or copied, but a lot of that was to mask her own feelings. She may have been a hardcore otaku and was passionate about her hobbies, but it didn't mean that she didn't have her own desires. However, she always knew even at an early age when she was able to become self-aware of her physical being that she wasn't like the other girls. She didn't dream of a storybook wedding or falling in love with Prince Charming like the other girls did. She only noticed other girls.

The blue-haired girl knew she was into girls at an early age. For her, it all began in junior high school. When Konata was thirteen years old, she met a girl named Emiko Yamaguchi, her first love. The two girls were aware of their feelings and that they weren't into boys, but rather their interests and even emotions peaked around each other. What sealed this deal for Konata and Emiko was that both of them were otaku's and geeks. One of their favorite passions was cosplaying and no matter what the setting was, Emiko always had to be a maid.

Konata never divulged this secret to anyone...except to Kagami and Tsukasa once. Even though it happened a few years ago, she distinctly remembered eating lunch with the Hiiragi twins one day and after a rousing debate on food with them, Kagami asked if Konata had any other friends besides them and the ones she had in games. Konata mentioned her friend from junior high school, but was still reticent about it. The only detail she would reveal was that she wrote in Konata's yearbook that her dream in life was to become a maid. However, even that was an inside innuendo.

To the day, the blue-haired girl never forgot the day when she and Emiko were discovered. After Emiko invited Konata over to her house one day to do homework and play video games afterward, Emiko's mother brought in a tray of tea and cookies for them. Nothing could've prepared her for what she would discover. She could hardly believe it, but she found Konata Izumi straddling her daughter on her bed and the two girls were kissing each other passionately. Emiko's mother went berserk on the spot and threw Konata out of her house and forbade her daughter from ever seeing her young lover ever again.

Though Sojiro Izumi was initially surprised that his daughter had discovered herself at such a young age, he wasn't disgusted nor angered by Konata's desires. She was all he had after his wife passed away and knew that Konata was who she was and wouldn't have it any other way. His one and only child was born with tastes in other females but he still chose to stand up and be the father that Konata deserved. At the end of the day, the only thing that mattered to him was his daughter's happiness.

Emiko on the other hand wasn't so lucky. As soon as her mother threw Konata out and banished her from their home, she started her feeble attempts at convincing her daughter that this was just a phase and that it would soon pass. After some time passed and Emiko was still crying for Konata, her parents decided it was time for her to see a therapist to try and cure her of her desires for the blue-haired girl and the female gender in general. One failed appointment only led to another until her parents took drastic measures. When they knew that she and Konata would be going to the same high school, they enrolled her in a private school far away from Saitama. Needless to say, both teenagers were heartbroken.

However, before Emiko left forever, she was able to send her lover one final message. She edged it into Konata's school yearbook so that they would always have a special connection.

"To my beautiful otaku, Konata. You are the master of my heart. I vow to be the greatest maid in the world...for you. I love you forever. Deepest love and endless affection, Emiko."

The words she scribbled into the yearbook before she was shipped away still circled inside her mind and Konata never truly forgot about her despite how heavily invested she was in Kagami, as well as the rest of her friends. This was one of the biggest reasons why Konata combed the Aku District in a mutilated French maid outfit in search of Kagami. She was in love with the twin-tailed Hiiragi and didn't want to lose another love in her life again.

As hard as it was for Konata, she was beginning to cope with the dual probabilities that not only would Kagami not be seen again, but also that she may have never returned Konata's feelings if they did meet again. Yutaka knew all of this about her cousin, which triggered both a sisterly and a motherly bond to form between them. They were always close, but Konata and Yutaka weren't close enough for her cousin to divulge such secret and intimate details at the time. Now that everything was in the open and Yutaka still loved Konata unconditionally, it allowed the blue-haired girl to accept that she may lose Kagami.

Even though this idea still hurt, Yutaka did everything she could to keep a smile on her beloved cousin's face. Though the salmon-haired girl wasn't a hardcore otaku like her cousin, she still decided to spend the rest of the day with Konata and do the things she enjoyed doing to make her feel better. It didn't take long until Konata was once again smiling and having fun when she and Yutaka arrived at Gamers. Yutaka knew some girls her age would go shopping for clothes to feel better, but she could never quite figure out how shopping for new manga books or video games became a lightning bolt of energy for her cousin. Regardless, seeing Konata smiling and happy again proved to Yutaka that her cousin was her old self again.

Yutaka watched Konata hold two manga books in her hands, debating which one to purchase. The salmon-haired girl knew her cousin already had a copy of one of the books she was currently holding but still couldn't grasp the concept of why she was debating on whether to buy a second copy.

"Um...onee-chan...don't you already have that one? I saw you reading it last night." Yutaka observed.

Konata turned to her with her infamous grin. "This is what we do, Yu-chan. One copy is for looking at, two is for keeping, and the third is for lending and spreading the gospel!"

Yutaka closed her eyes and giggled slightly with confusion. "Whatever you say, onee-chan."

Because Konata was who she was, she obviously couldn't decide between the two, prompting her to purchase both books. The dual purchase also stripped Konata of most of her finances, which was something she was used to so Yutaka decided to treat herself and her cousin to the ice cream when they were ready. The shorter girl paid for the frozen treats and they sat together outside on a bench lining the street.

"I just want to tell you, onee-chan, that I'm really glad that you're feeling better." Yutaka said with a wink and a smile.

Konata turned to look at her cousin and she quickly returned the smile. With a mellow and subdued voice, Konata gently replied, "I am...and thank you, Yu-chan, for everything. It really meant a lot to me that you didn't laugh at me or cringe when I told you that...I like girls."

Yutaka widened her smile and nodded back. "Of course, onee-chan. You know that you can tell me anything. I can understand that keeping a secret like that for so long can put a lot of pressure on you or anyone in your position."

Konata nodded slowly. "I appreciate that. Really. For a long time I thought I was a freak, especially when Emiko's mother screamed at me and called me an animal for being in love with her daughter."

Yutaka slowly shook her head while complementing it with a hurt expression. "That's horrible, and you are not a freak, Konata. You're a very unique and wonderful person who is who she is and it makes me happy to see you embrace it."

"Thanks. I wish more people were like you, Yu-chan. They say that girls that are as sweet and wonderful like you have beautiful minds...but an open mind is even better in my opinion." Konata sighed and lopped up more of her melting ice cream as it started to liquify in the summer heat.

The salmon-haired girl looked away and stared out at the different young men and women so heavily invested in the otaku culture. Though she wasn't a charismatic cosplayer or a manga and anime expert, Yutaka could still see underneath all of them and see that they were just like her. They were human with their own thoughts, feelings, dreams, and even fears. Despite her calm and peaceful personality, Yutaka still felt frustrated underneath that some people were still judged and even discriminated against because of their hobbies or certain beliefs. Konata's words were credible in her mind. Perhaps an open mind was the true definition of having a beautiful mind.

"Thank you for saying so, onee-chan, but in all fairness, I wish more people were like you." Yutaka replied when she turned back to look at her cousin. "I've always admired your charisma and passion for what you do and that you're living your life without any regrets. You're everything that I want to be, and I believe that everyone else wants to be. You know who you are and you accept it as fact and you're a package deal for that special someone. A lot of people would compromise or sacrifice who they are for any given reason, but you wouldn't. You're an inspiration to me, onee-chan."

Konata giggled slightly while trying to hide her own minor blush. "I think that liking girls in that special way did a lot of good for me in that realm. It showed me that I had no choice but to be strong and confident in myself. It's times like this that remind me of what Kagami used to say to be about games and anime not being reality. Even though I always wished she was wrong, I still admired her confidence and the fact that she was fearless in the face of reality."

Yutaka tried to hide her sigh as she could see that despite the fact that Konata had given up her extreme attempts in finding Kagami, the twin-tailed Hiiragi still plagued her mind. She couldn't blame Konata completely though. The salmon-haired girl could see that her cousin greatly admired Kagami because she believed they had a lot in common. They were both dealt situations that called for them to be strong, yet for now it seemed that Kagami was choosing the coward's way out with drugs over defeating adversity with her own female knowhow. Seeing Kagami not only in so much pain but also not dealing with it the right way brought reality too close for Konata. She remembered how much she wanted to die after she lost Emiko but in the end, the blue-haired girl believed it all worked out for the best. She was able to attend Ryoo High School and eventually met Tsukasa then Kagami, as well as their other friends and Konata had to admit that she was happy.

"I know you still miss Kagami. We all do, onee-chan. But I'm going to tell you something about me that might help you. When my big sister was still dating Kiyotaka before he proposed, they were having problems with their relationship even before they tied the knot." Yutaka divulged. "About a week before he proposed, my sister was actually talking to our mother about splitting up with him and she was dead serious when she meant it. The only thing stopping her was the belief that she would never find another guy...until my mother told her a simple phrase which I think can apply to you, too."

Konata tilted her head. "What did she say?"

Yutaka took a deep breath and stated, "She said...'it's a big sea, Yui.'"

Konata slowly turned her head away. "So basically you're telling me that there are plenty of other fish in the sea. Right?"

Her cousin nodded. "Correct, and I know that you'll find another girl soon enough."

Feeling both a little bit better and a little bit more depressed, Konata sighed and nodded. "Yeah, I guess so. The only questions are when...and who will that special someone for me be?"

Yutaka was silent as her first response, perking Konata's curiosity and she looked at her cousin. The salmon-haired girl was looking out at the crowd and was squinting to try and get a better glimpse of someone. She suddenly stated, "Um...isn't that Tamura-san, onee-chan?"

Hearing the familiar and now seemingly reclusive name triggered Konata to jolt her head forward to find her long-haired fellow otaku. Sure enough, she spotted the large glasses covering her droopy and depressed eyes as the apparently sad girl walked down the street. Konata was about to call out to her as she walked across the street, but it was clear to the blue-haired girl that something was deeply bothering her. Ever since Konata yelled at her for what she believed was giving up on Kagami, the two remained distant. However, seeing the meganekko walking down the street sent Konata's heart into euphoric palpitations and she started to tremble while feeling sweat form across her forehead.

Hiyori Tamura on the other hand didn't notice them, not even when the two cousins called her name the first time. She just kept her hands in the pockets of her hooded sweatshirt with a look of angst. If anyone could see what was happening to Hiyori behind closed doors, they too would have distressed looks. Ever since her fight with Konata, an invidious life form had burrowed itself within her existence and continued to suck the life out of her like a tick. Ever since her encounter with Yuka Miyakawa, she never knew another peaceful day. All of Hiyori's days since then consisted of never-ending fear of returning home one day and finding Miyakawa waiting for her and for Hiyori to unwillingly play her part in Miyakawa's plan to destroy Inori Hiiragi. For nearly two straight weeks, Hiyori didn't get one peaceful night's sleep.

"Hey, Hiyorin!" A familiar voice finally found her ears.

The depression covering her face finally broke apart and she looked around. When she saw the long blue hair of her friend and role model, she smiled for the first time in nearly two weeks and she made the motion to cross the street. Hiyori eventually crossed the busy road and made it over to the two cousins, who were both happy to see her again. Hiyori's spirits seemed to be uplifted by the simple presence of the blue-haired girl and she began to mimic the same physical gestures as Konata displayed when she first spotted her friend.

"Hey there, senpai. How...how have you been?" Hiyori stuttered initially with a dry mouth.

Yutaka stared at Hiyori, who had a hint of rosy colors on her face and she glanced at her cousin, who was also showing signs of red on her face upon being near Hiyori again. Konata also clumsily blurted out, "Uh...um...go...good. I'm going...uh...I forget."

"Um...good?" Hiyori asked.

Konata quickly nodded. "Yeah, yeah, yeah! That."

Yutaka giggled silently and she could read both of their body languages and concocted an idea. She reached into her pocket, grasped her cell phone, and opened it. She put on an acting display and proclaimed, "Oh look, Minami-chan texted me. She was wondering if she wanted to go see a movie with me right now. I'll catch ya later, onee-chan!"

"Wa...wait Yu-chan!" Konata exclaimed but it was no use. She watched her younger cousin disappear in the vast crowd of people, leaving her alone with a friend who was for some reason making her nervous just by her simple presence.

When Yutaka disappeared, the two girls were left stunned and with only each other to entertain. The two girls tried to look at each other but as soon as their eyes met, they quickly looked away again, each one blushing heavily now. The silence between them was long and painfully awkward but Konata was able to see why her little cousin left them so abruptly. Konata remembered her earlier words when she said, "The only questions are when...and who will that special someone for me be?" It appeared that this was a setup, though a rather random and even ominous one.

"Do...do you want...to sit down, Hiyorin?" Konata asked while trying to hide her reddening complexion.

Hiyori gulped slightly and nodded. "Uh..sure..."

Trying to hide how awkward and embarrassed they felt, both girls sat on the same bench and yet another inauspicious silence found them as the two friends fought back their nerves by staring out into traffic. A city bus suddenly drove past them with a banner on the side advertising a familiar face on it, catching both girls' eyes.

"Hey...wasn't that Akira Kogami on that bus?" Hiyori asked.

Konata nodded. "Yeah. I heard she's promoting a new CD of her singing, but I've been reading a few blogs saying that they think it's gonna be a bomb."

"That's too bad for her." Hiyori replied, hoping it would kickstart a conversation, but it regrettably ended there and they both became awkwardly mute again.

This time however, Konata wasn't going to let it drag on as she did have something she wanted to say. She turned to Hiyori and said, "I'm actually glad you're here, Hiyorin. I've been wanting to tell you I'm sorry for awhile now."

"Sorry? Sorry for what?"

"Well, I said some pretty mean things to you...about quitting on Kagami." Konata confessed. "To be honest, I've given up my searches for Kagami a few days ago. Yu-chan made me realize that I need to move on with my life and accept the fact that I can't win every battle in life. I owe it to her for putting it very simply. I have so much...but I wanted what I couldn't have. She taught me to really cherish what I already have and if I do that, I'll never need anything else."

Hiyori smiled. "Those are very profound words, senpai. Your little cousin really knows what to say in a tough spot."

Konata nodded. "So again, I'm sorry."

Hiyori shook her head while still smiling. "No need to apologize. You're my friend and I know that Kagami was your friend as well."

Konata looked up and smiled. "You're my friend as well, Hiyorin, and like Yu-chan said, I'm glad you're in my life. I really envy the guy you're gonna marry."

Hiyori's face went rose red and she gulped. She whispered something unusual and Konata could've sworn she heard her mutter, "...yeah...a guy..."

Another silence pried itself between them and Konata believed that Hiyori Tamura was in a similar spot as she was. There was only one way to find out. The blue-haired girl cleared her throat and started, "Hiyorin..."

"Yes, senpai?"

"Would...would you want to go see a movie or something together sometime?" Konata asked. "Or...maybe just hang out a little more often? I always knew we had a lot in common, but we never _really _hung out like this. I would like to change that."

Hiyori grinned slightly and couldn't help but play with the ends of her hair while replying, "I would like that, senpai. What are you doing the rest of the day?"

Konata shook her head. "Nothing really. Want to go to Akiba?"

With an enthusiastic yes, the two friends boarded the next bus to their otaku safe havens and were still able to have the times of their lives. Konata and Hiyori blew through more of their savings on manga books, anime box sets, and new video games. They completely lost track of time and the setting sun was the only indicator that their day together was almost over. Riding the train back to a connecting station, Konata and Hiyori stuck close with each other as the sun finally dipped below the horizon.

"That was a lot of fun, Hiyorin." Konata said with a giggle as she clutched her bags of newly acquired goods.

Hiyori laughed with a bit of fatigue on her part but still agreed. "You're right. I had a lot of fun. Thanks for hanging out with me today, Konata."

Konata looked up and giggled while giving her cat-like grin. "So you finally stopped calling me senpai."

Hiyori hid her face with embarrassment. "Don't be mean...you know I just respect you a lot, right?"

"I do...and from now on you don't have to be so formal. Just call me Kona-chan." She replied while patting her friend on the back.

"O...Okay...I will..." Hiyori chuckled lightly. "Um...Kona-chan?"

"Yes, Hiyorin?"

"Was...was this our...our...our first...you know?" Hiyori stuttered while revealing a dark blush.

Konata mimicked the blush and she looked away. "I...I don't know. Do...do you...like me...Hiyori?"

Hearing Konata refer to her by her real name brought reality closer to them. Hiyori never really thought about relationships as much as someone like Kagami secretly did, but every time she would, she would become very embarrassed and confused and enclose herself in the protective snow globe existence that was her drawing. Little did Hiyori know that all along she was expressing her true feelings in her dojinshi. She would always fantasize about a certain "yuri" couple that was inspired by two of her classmates, but there was a much broader issue behind it.

This whole time, Hiyori Tamura was expressing her true feelings and desires. She always had a lot in common with Patricia Martin, but always felt more comfortable and felt more of a connection whenever she was near this blue-haired girl. Konata always seemed to know what true pressure and stress was when dealing with these kinds of issues and it showed during her quests to find Kagami. On paper, it almost appeared to be a mach made in heaven. Both girls struggled with their identities behind closed doors and it became heated at times with Konata's secret history with Emiko and Hiyori's struggles with depression. It was all of this logic and theories that made Hiyori reply softly.

"I...I...I think I do...Konata. I...I really...like you." Hiyori whispered. "I mean...I never could connect with any of the guys in school...and I've always looked up to you. So...yeah...I do like you, Konata."

Something suddenly grasped Hiyori's hand as she stared into space to combat her fears. She nearly jumped when this foreign object latched onto her and when she looked to identify it, she began trembling. Konata was holding her hand and tightened her grip on it.

"I've...I've always liked you, too, Hiyori...but I was also in love with Kagami." Konata confessed nervously. "In retrospect...I thought it was because I thought we were a lot alike...but you were here too. Remember when you first helped me with that prostitute maid outfit?"

Hiyori nodded.

"And how I said I would do the same thing for you if you were in Kagami's spot?"

She nodded again.

"That still is the truth." Konata whispered, barely noticing her face was lifting upwards towards Hiyori's.

Feeling her heart in her throat, Hiyori gulped and her eyes zipped in every direction in her sockets. She was scared beyond all comprehension and didn't know what to do. This was the first time she was this close with anybody in her life so she had no idea what to do next. The only thing she could think of was to close her eyes and allow her mentality do what came naturally to it.

Hiyori's eyes closed and she lowered her face with one final whisper. "Konata..."

Their lips connected as the train disappeared into a tunnel, enclosing them in a world of darkness but as long as they held each other's hands, neither felt scared.

(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(- )-(-)

By the time Hiyori arrived home, it was later at night so the rest of her family was asleep. The long-haired girl did her best to tiptoe through the house while trying to keep her plastic shopping bags silent as she made her way through her house and upstairs to her room. She slowly opened her bedroom door, turned the lights on, and closed the door. She placed her back against the wooden barrier and breathed heavily, her face still a burning shade of red from her encounter.

Everything still felt surreal and hazy for her and she felt as if she had just awoken from a nap. The events that transpired on that train were still clear in her mind, but somehow they seemed as if they were a dream. Hiyori was still floating in mental purgatory trying to recall her entire day with Konata, especially her kiss with her, and conclude that it actually happened and it wasn't just a dream.

As her eyes continued to tremble while replaying the image for her, she felt a sudden chill in the air and glanced upward. Her bedroom window was open and a steady breeze was blowing in, prompting her to shiver while walking over to the glass panels and closing them while also drawing her curtain over them. When that task was complete and silence was once again her only world, she turned and stared at her desk where she created all of her dojin work. Her eyes were sealed on the structure and almost as if her body was on autopilot, she walked over to it, pulled her chair out, and sat down.

The ticking clock on her desk was the only sound she could hear now and to combat her still bubbling fear, she started playing with her favorite mechanical pencil in her fingers. She gulped again while taking deep breaths and she couldn't help but move her fingers up to her lips and she felt the soft flesh. She could still feel Konata's lips pressing against hers. That simple gesture was like a roller coaster of pure emotional and starry vehemence that entered through her lips and caressed her soul. That was her first kiss...and she couldn't have been happier with it.

"Senpai...Konata...thank you..." she whispered to herself. "I never knew something as simple as a kiss could feel so incredible."

While Hiyori was already reminiscing about the physical contact and establishment of something new between the two friends, she also couldn't help but rethink everything about herself, especially why she was so heavily invested in manga, more specifically her own work. The more she thought about it, the more she began to realize the true symbolism behind all of it. Every time she would catch herself fantasizing about a risqué setup between Yutaka Kobayakawa and Minami Iwasaki, she would always become embarrassed and believe she was a pervert.

The more she rolled it within her own mind though however, she began to see something else behind her thought process. She began to reexamine her whole life and she realized that she was a terrible vocal communicator her whole life, especially when it came to her own feelings or how she viewed a certain display in the world. That's when she really began to dive deeper into her artistic skills. If she couldn't verbally communicate what she felt or wanted to say, she had to draw it. As she thumbed through the stories she created in her mind, she suddenly realized something that she had been trying to communicate for a long time.

Whenever she would see how close Minami and Yutaka were, she would begin drawing because she saw something she wanted. She wanted a very close friend like those two had in each other, but Hiyori wanted to take it to the next level. It wasn't that she was a pervert, but rather she was just like everyone else. All she wanted was love in her life and every time the idea of it would come near her, she would panic and believe herself to be aberrant.

Now that she knew that Konata cared about her in that way and vice-versa, she was both ecstatic and scared at the same time. As much as she hated to admit it, Hiyori didn't have any romantic experiences in the real world except for in her manga. However, that wasn't the end of the world. Maybe it was the same for Konata. The two girls may not have been connected at the hip, but Hiyori did know that Konata wasn't seeing anyone so maybe this could be a learning experience for both of them and something that would ultimately bring them closer together. They could be scared together, go through the same trials and tribulations together, and come out on top together.

As Hiyori's blush and smile deepened upon coming to this conclusion, her long hair began to dance and waft again as another cold breeze found the back of her neck. Hiyori slowly turned and saw her bedroom window was open again. She tilted her head in confusion at the sight but assumed it opened because she didn't lock it the first time. Repeating the task, she stood, walked to the window, closed it, and locked it this time. She glanced out the glass panels and could only see darkness outside with the exception of a few lights in some neighboring houses.

Hiyori shrugged and closed the curtain again and glanced around her room and saw she was the only one in it still so she walked back to her desk and sat back down again. She once again revisited all these thoughts of being in a romantic relationship with another girl and started to contemplate another issue that came with it. What would her family think of it? Hiyori remembered the hell she forced herself and her family through once before when she went through her dark and self-mutilation phase that nearly invited death itself into her existence.

As old memories swirled in her mind, a portentous gesture was forming behind her. It all happened so fast that it was over before Hiyori realized what was happening or muster the lung power to scream. A cold hand cupped her mouth and she felt a metal device force itself harshly against the right side of her head.

"Don't move!" A female voice hissed quietly.

Hiyori quickly shot up and was about to struggle until the intruder in her room forced her to turn around and the culprit forced Hiyori onto her bed. The girl still struggled while trying to free herself and scream for help but the familiar voice finally clicked in her mind.

"I said knock it off or I'll kill you!" The female voice said again.

Hiyori ceased her bucking and glanced upward and into the eyes of Yuka Miyakawa, who held a black automatic pistol to her head and a conniving smile on her face.

"Hey baby. Miss me?" Miyakawa asked with a giggle, drawing tears from Hiyori's eyes and muffled pleas to spare her life. "I'm going to get off you now and when I take my hand off your mouth, I expect you to be quiet or I will pull this trigger. Understand?"

Hiyori nodded quickly.

Without a second word, Miyakawa jumped off Hiyori and the frightened otaku also bounced up to her feet and was somehow able to hold her scream in. She didn't know if she would be able to, especially when she looked and saw the perverted intruder pointing a gun in her face. Hiyori trembled wildly while sweating and went to the verge of crying.

"Please...please...don't...kill me..." she wept silently as her knees knocked and her eyes were cauterized to the weapon.

Miyakawa giggled with deep entertainment as she watched the frightened girl beg for her life. "Oh this never gets old. Watching the scared little children of the world beg me to spare them...and for what? We're all gonna die in the end anyway."

Hiyori gulped loudly and bluntly before she whimpered, "What do you...want from me...now, Yuka?"

"Your time to play on my chess board has come, my dear, and I should actually be thanking you for making my game even more fun. You have a new love in your life, don't you?" Miyakawa replied sinisterly.

Hiyori's face went as white as a ghost. "How...how do know...?"

"I'm a shapeshifter, my dear sweet Hiyorin. I can blend into any crowd I want...even in the pathetic setting of Akiba." Miyakawa informed while keeping the gun aimed at Hiyori's head. "You love the blue-haired midget. Don't you?"

Hiyori accidentally nodded.

"I see...perfect. Ah...young love. It's such a beautiful thing. Too bad for you that you're going to take the love of your life and feed her to me." Miyakawa hissed.

"What makes you think I'll do that?! I'd rather die! Go ahead and shoot me!" Hiyori commanded after seeing Konata may be in danger.

To her deepening intimidation, Miyakawa giggled again. "Oh I won't shoot you just yet, Hiyori. Instead...I'll sit back and watch your family die. You know...I was here earlier when your mother was making dinner, but of course I hid in every spot I could find just to add a special ingredient to the main entree. As we speak, a slow working poison is doing its damage in every body of every member of your family. By noon tomorrow, they'll all be dead."

"You...you're lying you sick, twisted fuck!" Hiyori hissed back, minding the volume in her tone.

Miyakawa reached in-between her breasts with her free hand and pulled out a glass test tube filled with a clear liquid. "Am I? This is the antidote for the poison. If you want your family to live, you give them five drops of this in their drinks. If you want them to die, I'll leave now. It's your decision, Hiyorin. Either give me the love of your life...or give me your entire family. Either way, the blue-haired girl will be mine."

The long-haired meganekko could see it now. This was no bluff in Hiyori's mind. She was going to be forced to play her part in Miyakawa's game, which she knew was all to destroy Inori Hiiragi. Her eyes dripping water droplets, Hiyori sank to her knees again and covered her face. As she wept, she whimpered, "What do you want me to do?"

"Call her tomorrow and tell her that Kagami Hiiragi will be in a back alley between a building called 'Akio's Den' and an abandoned warehouse at midnight." Miyakawa replied quickly.

Hiyori looked up. "Kag...Kagami's still alive?"

Miyakawa nodded and laughed. "But her baby isn't."

Hiyori gulped again. "I...I...I don't understand."

"No matter. Just make sure the blue-haired one is at that spot tomorrow night at midnight." Miyakawa insisted with a fierce voice. "If she isn't there, I will not come back for you or even the blue-haired one. Instead, I'll take this little one."

Miyakawa put the antidote away and reached into her pocket to retrieve her cell phone. She opened it to a picture she took a few days over and Hiyori nearly wet herself when she saw the frozen image of Yutaka Kobayakawa on Miyakawa's cell phone screen.

"No...no...not Yu-chan...!" Hiyori cried and begged.

Miyakawa simply shook her head with a smile. "Your choice, Hiyorin."

She slowly lowered her head in defeat. "I'll do it then. I'll make the call tomorrow."

"That's a good little girl. Here's your gift." Miyakawa chuckled.

Hiyori looked up and saw the glass test tube falling towards the ground. She panicked and lunged forward and was able to catch it before it shattered on her floor. She breathed a deep sigh of relief as Miyakawa bent down to her and held the gun closer to her face.

"Before I go...just one more thing. Time to say goodnight, Hiyorin." Miyakawa laughed as she put her finger on the trigger.

Hiyori sat on her buttocks and backed up quickly until she was trapped by her wall again as she panicked. "Wa...wa...wa...wait a minute! I said I would do it! Don't kill me! I beg you, don't kill me, Yuka! I don't want to die!"

Miyakawa was enjoying every second of this twisted pleasure until she had her fill. She hissed, "Bang!" She pulled the trigger.

Instead of a metal projectile cutting her down, Hiyori watched a jet stream of water fly out of the gun's barrel and strike her face. It was a water gun the whole time.

"You're dead, Hiyorin." Miyakawa added and started laughing at her again.

Hiyori couldn't take the stress anymore and clamped her legs and tried to hide the growing wet spot on the front of her jeans as she started crying full board now. As she curled tighter into a protective ball, Miyakawa dropped the toy gun in front of her and huffed.

"Oh come on, Hiyorin, I was just playing. No reason we can't have a little fun with this." Miyakawa taunted. "Anyway, there's your antidote, so I better get my little blue-hair tomorrow...or the blue-hair's little one dies. Sleep tight, Hiyorin!"

Miyakawa happily pranced over to the window, opened it again, and jumped out just as the same way she got in. Hiyori was left in a state of scarred dismay that would no doubt destroy her life. She had no idea what Miyakawa had in store for Konata or why she even needed the blue-haired otaku to fulfill her plan to destroy Inori Hiiragi, but whatever it was, Hiyori had a sinking feeling that today was going to be the last time she would ever see Konata alive.

"At...at least she gave me my first kiss..." Hiyori whispered as she curled tighter and cried on her floor.

As Yuka Miyakawa walked down the street with a satisfied smirk on her face, she turned back and looked at Hiyori's home one more time. She chuckled to herself again and uttered, "Too bad for you that what I gave you wasn't an antidote...but mere tap water...since there was no poison to begin with. You're just as dumb and gullible as ever, Hiyorin."


End file.
